The January transfer window is fast approaching and Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement will soon have his first opportunity to make his own signings at Ibrox.
He was brought in to replace English boss Michael Beale midway through October and has, therefore, not been able to sign any players as of yet.
All nine of the club's new recruits this season were snapped up by the former Light Blues manager during the summer transfer window.
Leon Balogun, Danilo, Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers, Jose Cifuentes, Kieran Dowell, Dujon Sterling, and Jack Butland were signed on permanent deals, along with Abdallah Sima's arrival on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Beale made these signings without a permanent sporting director or director of football in place to assist him with the recruitment strategy.
This will not be the case with Clement as the club recently confirmed the appointment of Nils Koppen as the team's new director of football recruitment and he is due to start on the 2nd of January.
The Belgian chief, who is set to join from Dutch side PSV, could secure an instant blinder by working with the head coach to sign a replacement for Leon Balogun, who has been a short-term solution to the club's defensive issues.
Rangers transfer news – Charlie Cresswell
Football League World reported during the summer transfer window that the Scottish giants had a bid rejected by Leeds United for England U21 international Charlie Cresswell.
The outlet claimed that Beale was keen on a deal for the talented young defender and had an opening offer for his services turned down by the Championship club.
It has not been revealed whether or not the Gers tried to go back in with further bids for his signature but their pursuit of the towering ace ultimately failed.
Any hope Rangers had of luring him to Ibrox appeared to fade away as Cresswell put pen to paper on a new four-year deal with the Whites at the start of August.
However, the 21-year-old titan has only made four league appearances for Daniel Farke's side so far this season and has only been named in the starting XI once.
This suggests that he has not been able to force his way into the manager's plans as the likes of Pascal Struijk, Liam Cooper, and Joe Rodon have been preferred ahead of him so far.
It will now be interesting to see if that changes Leeds' stance on his future heading into the January transfer window as his lack of minutes on the pitch could stunt his development.
Cresswell is not playing regular first-team football and there is nothing to suggest that is going to change any time soon at Elland Road, which could open the door to an exit at the start of 2024.
Therefore, Koppen should reignite the club's interest in the central defender and attempt to snap him up from Leeds with the offer of game time that he has not been able to enjoy during the first half of the 2023/24 campaign.
The Whites centre-back could replace Balogun as a regular starter at the back, as the 35-year-old is due to be out of contract at the end of the season.
Leon Balogun's Rangers statistics
The German-born defender's deal expires in the summer of 2024 and there is not currently any option for either party to extend that.
He turns 36 before the start of the 2024/25 campaign and Rangers could benefit from bringing in a player to replace him in January so that Clement can develop them with the short, mid, and long-term in mind.
Balogun, whilst his performances have been impressive this season, is not going to be a long-term centre-back for the Gers and could fill in as an exceptional back up during the second half of the term before being moved on at the end of his contract.
The 35-year-old ace has made five Premiership appearances this season and contributed with four tackles and interceptions and 3.6 clearances per game.
He has been a dominant force in the air with an aerial duel success rate of 67%, which shows that opposition forwards have found it difficult to get the better of him.
Appearances
16
Interceptions
29
Tackles
26
Clearances
69
Duel success rate
60
As you can see in the table above, the experienced defender arrived for his second spell at Rangers off the back of a solid season in the English Championship with Queens Park Rangers.
Koppen could now replace him with another player who caught the eye with his performances in the second tier in England last term – Cresswell.
The statistics that show why Cresswell could replace Balogun
The Leeds academy graduate was sent out on loan to Millwall for the 2022/23 campaign and enjoyed an impressive season in his first year of regular first-team football.
Cresswell made 28 appearances for the Lions and showcased both his defensive skills and his progressive quality in possession of the ball.
The 21-year-old colossus made 2.8 tackles and interceptions and 3.1 clearances per game to go along with his aerial duel success rate of 61%.
He also ranked within the top 1% of Championship centre-backs for aerial battles won (5.77) and the top 12% for blocks (1.51) per 90, which illustrates how impressive the youngster was at defending his own box.
Cresswell, who was described as "impressive" for England's U21s by journalist Josh Bunting, also ranked within the top 17% for successful take-ons (0.44) and the top 38% for progressive passes (3.23) per 90.
Whereas, Balogun ranked in the bottom 6% of his positional peers at that level for progressive passes (1.38) per 90 for QPR last season.
This suggests that the 6 foot 3 youngster could provide more incision on the ball by playing through the thirds to break lines and provide the attackers with the ball in more advanced positions.
Couple that with his outstanding defensive attributes to block, clear, and head the ball and Rangers could land an excellent all-round centre-back option.
At the age of 21, the titan is also 14 years younger than Balogun and could be a player whom Clement develops and works with over time to be a star for the club for many years to come.
