OPINION
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is making some serious early movements in the January transfer window, with deals for Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis both confirmed.
The Light Blues have also agreed pre-contract agreements with Kilmarnock winger Jordan Jones and Dundee midfielder Glen Kamara, who will link up with the club on free transfers in the summer.
Another fresh January arrival, although admittedly not a transfer, is young striker Ryan Hardie, who looks to have been retained after his loan spell at Livingston.
As reported by the Daily Record, the 21-year-old has travelled with the rest of the squad to their warm weather training camp in Tenerife, with Gerrard seemingly dashing Livi’s hopes of extending his loan spell.
Hardie scored five goals in seven games for the West Lothian side, and that form has obviously alerted Gerrard, who has sprung a surprise by opting to keep him around for the winter break.
It is not guaranteed that Hardie will remain with Rangers after they return from Tenerife, but having him around means that Gerrard now has four options at striker, with Defoe, Hardie, Alfredo Morelos and Kyle Lafferty.
And it is Northern Ireland international Lafferty who will be sweating buckets over his place in Gerrard’s thinking after the arrivals of Defoe and Hardie.
The veteran forward has not exactly impressed since he arrived in the summer, with Lafferty netting just five goals in 27 appearances this season.
Admittedly most of his games have come from the bench, but Lafferty is yet to hit the heights of his previous spell at Rangers or his tenure at last club Hearts.
The presence of Defoe is most certainly a threat to his place in the team, with the England international one of the country’s best goalscorers in recent history.
Hardie’s arrival complicates things even further for Lafferty, who must now buckle down and prove to Gerrard he belongs at Ibrox.
If he fails to do so then a summer exit is not out of the question for the 31-year-old, whose stock is diminishing by the day.