Rangers are hoping to add to their goalkeeping options with a late January bid for a former Polish underage international playing in the English Championship.
Football Insider reported that the ‘Gers have held talks with Leeds about a possible move for Kamil Miazek before the winter transfer window closes, with the Yorkshire-based club willing to listen to offers for the 23-year-old.
According to Football Insider, the Ibrox club have been in the market for a backup goalkeeper and have targeted the Leeds man, who is out of contract at Elland Road at the end of this season.
Miazek, who has been capped by Poland at under-19 level, is a graduate of Feyenoord’s academy but has never played a senior competitive game for Leeds. He has made the bench on a number of occasions for the Whites but has never been called upon by Marcelo Bielsa in a competitive fixture.
Indeed, the 23-year-old goalkeeper has very little experience of senior football, with his only taste of first-team action coming in the Polish second tier in 2016/17 for Chojniczanka Chojnice, for whom he conceded nine goals in his four appearances (as per TransferMarkt). He came in for criticism from a portion of Leeds fans in November after an error-strewn performance for the under-23 side in a 7-1 defeat to Derby.
Steven Gerrard currently has three goalkeepers in his first team squad in Allan McGregor, Wes Foderingham and Andy Firth. The former is emphatically the first choice, playing 36 of the Light Blues’ 41 games this season, with Foderingham featuring in the other five. However, as per Herald Scotland, the Englishman recently expressed his desire to leave Ibrox once his contract expires in the summer after struggling for game-time over the past two years.
The situation with Foderingham is a regrettable one as the 29-year-old has done quite well when called upon this season. He has only conceded once in his five appearances (0.2 goals per game) and kept four clean sheets (80% of games), while he has a wealth of Premiership experience (74 matches) and a decent track record for Rangers, with 144 goals conceded in 143 games for the club (1.007 per game).
Foderingham is a goalkeeper with plenty of experience at the highest level in Scotland and who has proven himself at Rangers, whereas Miazek has barely played any first-team football in his career despite being just two months younger than Alfredo Morelos.
The Light Blues’ late January interest in the Leeds man has the air of desperation at getting another goalkeeper into the squad simply to cover their bases should Foderingham, a far more proven option already at their disposal, follow through on his wish to leave. Rangers ought to invest their energy into trying to persuade their current second-choice ‘keeper to remain at Ibrox rather than taking a chance on an inexperienced alternative who can’t get a game in the English second tier.
Rangers fans, do you think Miazek would be a better backup to McGregor than Foderingham? Should the club try to convince the latter to stay at Ibrox instead? Join in the discussion by commenting below!
