OPINION
Mark Allen must re-enter talks with Scunthorpe United ahead of the January transfer window to see if they want to sign Rangers goalkeeper Jak Alnwick on a permanent deal.
Alnwick, 25, may have conceded 26 goals and kept just two clean sheets in 13 appearances across all competitions since joining Scunthorpe on a half-season loan deal in the summer, but the ex-Newcastle goalkeeper has actually been in very good form at Glanford Park and has been unlucky to be beaten as often he has been.
Signed by Mark Warburton for £250,000 in January 2017, Alnwick put in a man of the match shift as Scunthorpe beat English League One rivals Burton 2-1 in the FA Cup last week.
He was sent south of the border in the summer by Steven Gerrard and director of football Allen after the signing of Allan McGregor pushed him down the pecking order to third-choice at Ibrox.
However negotiations with the Iron over the summer meant that Alnwick would only join the Lincolnshire club on a short-term loan which expires at the start of January.
That is why Allen must start negotiations again with Scunthorpe to get them to sign him on a permanent deal because at the end of the season, the shot-stopper will be in the final year of his contract and would not be able to fetch the Gers much money.
The Light Blues are better off taking advantage of his good form and Scunthorpe could be happy to part with some cash to sign the player, or at the very least, extend his loan deal.
Either way it is clear that no matter how well Alnwick does out on loan with Scunthorpe, he surely has not future at Ibrox with McGregor and Wes Foderingham – two top Scottish Premiership goalkeepers – ahead of him in the pecking order.