Former Rangers defender Alan Hutton believes that his former club should make a move to sign English Championship striker Lyle Taylor in the January transfer window after he reportedly turned down a new deal at his current employers.
Sky Sports reporter Ben Ransom tweeted earlier this week (via @BenRansomSky) that the 29-year-old had rejected the offer of a “significantly improved” two-and-a-half year contract at Charlton, who are now ready to entertain offers for the Montserrat international as his current deal at The Valley expires at the end of this season.
Hutton told Football Insider that Rangers manager Steven Gerrard should try to entice Taylor to Ibrox this month, with top scorer Alfredo Morelos attracting attention from Newcastle, as reported by the Daily Record.
The ex-Light Blues defender said of a potential move for Taylor: “I think it’s time. He’s said no to the contract so in his mind, he is looking for a new team, but there will be a lot of people after him. He’s a good player, he’s done really well for them, so I can’t imagine Rangers are the only ones in for him, so they’re going to have to act quickly.
“We’ll obviously see in the coming weeks, we don’t know what will happen with Morelos in the future, possibly a summer move. So he’ll be looking to get someone in and get them into the way Rangers think and the way Gerrard wants them to play. So I rate him as a player, he’s a good player, so he could be a good fit for Rangers.” [via Football Insider]
Hutton’s endorsement of Taylor as a possible transfer target for Rangers looks a sound one given that the 29-year-old has been scoring consistently for a number of seasons. He has hit double figures in league games alone in each of the last four campaigns and looks on course to do so again in 2019/20, with seven for the season so far. The Charlton man is also coming back into form after an autumn lull, with a spell of two goals in three games at the end of December having raced out of the starting blocks with five in six matches at the outset of the season (as per TransferMarkt).
It isn’t just in terms of Taylor’s scoring figures that Hutton is right to call for Rangers to sign him, either. As he has stated, the striker’s rejection of an improved deal with the Addicks could be a sign that he wants to try his luck elsewhere, so the right offer from the ‘Gers could tempt him north of the border. Also, with Charlton possibly wanting to sell him this month while they can still get a fee for him before his contract runs out, Rangers could even be able to secure him for a reasonably low sum.
Plus, as Hutton has drawn upon, Morelos has already sparked interest from Newcastle and it would come as no great surprise if he had other suitors either this month or later in 2020 if he maintains the scoring form that he has shown in the current campaign – the Colombian has already struck 28 goals for the season in just 35 matches, a fantastic return of 0.8 per game.
Taylor is a proven goalscorer over a number of seasons and could be reasonably easy to attract given his contract refusal at Charlton, while interest in Morelos may continue to grow if he keeps stockpiling goals, so Hutton’s verdict would seem to be very logical for several reasons.
Rangers fans, do you agree with Hutton’s views about Taylor being a possible target for the club? Let us know what you think by commenting below!
