It has been an impressive start to the season for Rangers. Despite losing in the Scottish League Cup Final, the Gers are contenders for every competition they are still in. But that hasn’t deterred Steven Gerrard from ambitiously attempting to improve his squad. This week, Football Insider reported that Rangers were interested in signing Tyrese Campbell from Stoke City.
The 19-year-old, who turns 20 at the end of the month, plays in the midfield for the Potters. According to the Football Insider report, the Gers are competing with Celtic for the player’s signature. The clubs could purchase him in January or wait until the summer and try and pick him up on a free transfer. But with Rangers having such an impressive midfield already, why are they looking to sign Campbell at all?
Would you bring in Tyrese Campbell to Rangers?
Yes
No
TIF Tactics – What could Tyrese Campbell bring to Rangers?
Campbell’s age suggests that he wouldn’t come in and become a regular starter for Steven Gerrard. With Steven Davis, Ryan Jack, Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo playing major minutes for the English boss, there is already plenty of competition for a spot in Gerrard’s team’s core. And while Gerrard has recently experimented with the idea of playing Aribo in a wide area, he has subsequently brought Scott Arfield more narrow as a result.
Campbell has already played 702 minutes so far this season, but this doesn’t stack up to Davis, Jack, Kamara and Aribo who have all played over 2000 minutes each in 2019/20. It would be surprising for Gerrard to suddenly place all his faith in a much younger and inexperienced player. With that being said, he has played enough minutes to suggest he’s capable of stepping up when called upon. After qualifying through to the Round of 32 in the UEFA Europa League, Gerrard will be looking for squad players in the later stage of the season to step up when his starters need resting.
In his 702 minutes, Campbell has scored three goals and recorded one assist. He averages 4.49 dribbles per game and 17.18 passes, 70.9% of which are accurate. He manages to record 2.69 shots per 90 minutes on average, while his defensive statistics are less impressive. Campbell appears to have all the qualities of a creative attacking midfielder.
If he makes the move to Ibrox it is unlikely the player will walk right into Gerrard’s side. But with an impressive number of minutes considering his age, he could be on the verge of making a breakthrough into any team’s starting 11. Competition from Celtic will make this purchase difficult, but if Gerrard can pull this signing off, it will be a brilliant buy.
(all data and stats from Wyscout.com, accurate at the time of writing)