OPINION
Derby County have reportedly joined Rangers in the hunt to sign Charlton centre-forward Karlan Grant in a transfer battle that could pit Steven Gerrard up against his former England team-mate Frank Lampard.
The Mirror reported in their live transfer blog on Friday [03:51pm] that the Gers want to sign Grant, even if it means waiting until the summer to pry him away from Charlton.
The 21-year-old has been in top form for the League One club this season, scoring 13 goals and supplying five assists in 27 appearances across all competitions.
However although Addicks boss Lee Bowyer is desperate to keep the hotshot striker, his contract expires at the end of the campaign, which means that he could fall into the clutches of either Rangers or Derby.
It has always been a long-standing debate over who was the better midfielder in their prime. Liverpool legend Gerrard versus Chelsea legend Lampard.
They both started their management careers in the summer taking over at Ibrox and Pride Park respectably, and both of them have done very good jobs at reassembling their squads and leading them to a solid run of results in the first half of the season.
And with them now set to go up against each other in the transfer market, it is time for Gerrard to crush Lampard and win the race to sign Grant.
The England youth international is a special young talent and he is going to be available for a small compensation fee in the summer once his contract expires.
Rangers could do with thinking about the future now they have established themselves back at the pinnacle of Scottish football and Grant could go on to replace someone like Jermain Defoe or Kyle Lafferty in Gerrard’s first team plans once he hits the peak of his development.
Grant should be a very good acquisition for Rangers and that is why it is imperative that Gerrard beats Derby to the punch and signs him.