Journalist Joshua Barrie claims that Glasgow Rangers will make more signings from domestic markets, in Scotland and England, than they did last summer.
There has been some intense reaction to his claim, with some supporters citing signings like Kieran Dowell and Ben Davies, who are now surplus to requirements at Ibrox.
However, it is also worth acknowledging that Rangers have picked up some bargains from England, specifically, in recent years, including Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo.
Rangers set to sign Brighton youngster
The Light Blues could be on the lookout to repeat the blinders they played with both of those players, as they are closing in on a young talent from England this summer.
According to Football Insider, Rangers have agreed a deal to sign 16-year-old starlet Zebedee Lawson from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.
The report claims that the Scottish Premiership giants have beaten several clubs to his signature, and that the winger, who was described as a “sensation” by journalist Pete O’Rourke, was highly-rated at the English club.
That is why Football Insider adds that this is regarded as a ‘major coup’ for the Ibrox side, and potentially for Russell Martin in the future, as they are now set to sign the teenage forward.
Rangers could now be about to repeat the masterclass they played when they snapped up Bassey from then-Premier League side Leicester City in the summer of 2020.
Lawson could be a Bassey repeat for Rangers
The Light Blues hit the jackpot with Bassey because they snapped him up for a fee of just £230k and slowly developed him to become a key first-team player before he made a big-money exit in 2022.
He only made eight Premiership appearances in his first year at Ibrox, as he settled into life as a first-team option, before the defender played 50 times in the 2021/22 campaign after Giovanni van Bronckhorst put his faith in the versatile star, who played at left-back and centre-back.
As you can see in the table above, Bassey’s value did not immediately soar, due to a lack of game time, in his first time, but it did fly up when he was a regular in the side, before his £22.7m move to Ajax in 2022.
Lawson, who is only 16, will now be looking to follow in the Nigeria international’s footsteps by ditching a midtable Premier League academy to make the move to Ibrox, as Bassey did in 2020.
The teenage Brighton talent made a breakthrough at U18 level this season with a return of three goals and one assist in 13 matches as a right winger, despite only being 16, which may be why he is so highly-regarded at the AMEX.
This shows that he is making good progress and heading in the right direction, which is why he could be such an exciting signing, and the Gers will be hoping that the forward can continue to progress at Ibrox.
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There is no telling how he will develop in Glasgow, as not every player will soar in value as Bassey did, but Rangers have clearly identified him as a talented prospect, and hopefully he will live up to the hype and end up being a Bassey repeat for the Light Blues in the future.
