Glasgow Rangers have been linked with a swoop to add another centre-forward to their playing squad during the current January transfer window.
Rangers transfer news – Joe Gelhardt
A report from the Daily Mail has named the Light Blues as one of the two clubs interested in a deal to sign Joe Gelhardt from Leeds United this month.
Rivals Celtic are also said to be eyeing up a possible swoop to sign the former England U20 international from the Championship side to bolster their attack.
However, there is no mention of whether the two clubs are looking at a permanent move for the £14k-per-week youngster, or a loan deal until the end of the campaign – as was the case with the signing of Fabio Silva from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Philippe Clement could now finally ditch Kemar Roofe from the squad by securing an agreement for Gelhardt ahead of the Hoops before the end of the window.
Why Rangers should ditch Roofe
The 31-year-old striker's current contract at Ibrox is due to expire this summer and the Belgian head coach should part ways with him due to a lack of reliability in his availability.
Roofe is not a terrible centre-forward who has consistently failed on the pitch for Rangers. However, he is an injury-prone player who is not a reliable option for Clement.
The former Leeds marksman, who arrived from Anderlecht in 2020, has scored 38 goals in 93 matches in all competitions throughout his career with the club, which is a respectable return.
His issue has been that he has missed a staggering 88 competitive games for the Gers in that time, which means that Roofe has almost been absent for as many clashes as he has played.
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Clement is not able to rely upon him to be available as an option throughout the season and that is why he should be ditched from the squad, which the signing of Gelhardt could facilitate.
The statistics that show why Rangers should sign Gelhardt
The 21-year-old whiz is yet to make his breakthrough at senior level in terms of being able to impact matches at the top end of the pitch on a consistent basis.
He has only made six appearances in the league for Leeds so far this season and managed three goals and three assists in 18 Championship matches for Sunderland on loan during the second half of last term.
However, the young ace, who did assist six goals in 31 Premier League outings for the Whites, was a prolific scorer at youth level for Leeds and Wigan.
Gelhardt, who ex-Leeds chief Victor Orta claimed has "ice with fire" on the pitch, plundered an outstanding 20 goals and six assists in 31 U21 matches for his current club after a return of five goals in five U18 outings for Wigan.
These statistics show that the potential is there for him to be a lethal scorer but he is yet to show that at first-team level in England, which is why a move to Scotland could be the next best step in his development to play in a dominant team that will create plenty of chances for him.
Importantly, he also has zero registered injuries on Transfermarkt in his career to date and this suggests that Gelhardt will be far more reliable, in terms of his availability, than Roofe, which is why Clement could afford to ditch the Jamaica international with a swoop for the Leeds youngster.
