Rangers line up deadline-busting move to sign a big upgrade on Chermiti

Glasgow Rangers supporters were hit with a surprising piece of news on Tuesday when it was revealed that the club have rejected an offer for Youssef Chermiti.

Journalist Chris Jack reports that the Light Blues have knocked back an offer of £13m from Turkish side Fenerbahce for the Portuguese centre-forward, and that the club are not considering an exit for him before the end of this window.

Jack adds that the Portugal U21 international, signed from Everton for £8m last summer, will not be sold as Danny Rohl‘s team chase a Scottish Premiership title.

A chance to make an instant £5m profit on a player who has only scored four goals in 25 matches in all competitions, per Sofascore, must have been a tempting one, but the Gers have held firm.

Rangers eyeing late move for Premier League striker

Despite the report that the Scottish giants are not looking to move on from Chermiti this month, the club are reportedly keen to add another striker to their squad.

According to Ipswich outlet TWTD, Glasgow Rangers are one of a number of clubs lining up a late move to sign Leeds United centre-forward Joel Piroe before the end of the January transfer window.

The report mainly covers Ipswich’s interest in the Dutch-born star, who has decided to represent Suriname at international level in the future, and reveals that talk of a bid from the Championship side is premature.

It adds that the Tractor Boys, Rangers, Celtic, Crystal Palace, and a number of other Championship clubs are eyeing up moves to sign the left-footed attacker, who has fallen down the pecking order at Elland Road.

TWTD, though, does not reveal how much the Whites are set to demand for their top scorer from the 2024/25 campaign, or if they would be willing to sanction a loan for him.

Why Rangers should sign Joel Piroe from Leeds

Rangers should push to win the race for the 26-year-old centre-forward because he would arrive at Ibrox as a big upgrade on Chermiti for Rohl, due to his proven goalscoring quality.

Piroe has found life difficult in the Premier League, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha ahead of him in the pecking order, but that does not mean that he is a poor player, as he has strikers who have been capped by England and Germany in his way.

The left-footed star, who was once hailed as a “dangerous” player by journalist Josh Bunting, did prove his goalscoring quality during his time in the Championship with both Leeds and Swansea, though, as he scored goals on a regular basis across four seasons at that level.

Piroe scored 73 goals in 179 matches in the Championship, and scored at least 13 goals in each of his four seasons with Swansea and Leeds, which proves that he can be a consistent goalscorer.

Chermiti, however, has never scored more than the four goals that he currently has under his belt at league level in his career, per Sofascore, having failed to score a single goal in two years with Everton, and after scoring three league goals for Sporting.

As you can see in the table above, Piroe’s performances in the Championship for Leeds last season appear to suggest that he would be a much better number nine option for Rohl than Chermiti currently is.

The Portugual U21 international, who is only 21, has potential and may be a brilliant player in the future, but he is not scoring goals week-in-week-out at this stage in his career.

Piroe, though, has proven that he has the quality in front of goal to score plenty of goals when he plays regular minutes, which is why he could arrive at Ibrox as a big upgrade on Chermiti.

If the Gers, who have a link to Leeds with Paraag Marathe, can agree a deal with Leeds, possibly to sign him on loan for the rest of the season, then he would improve the quality of Rohl’s options in the number nine position.

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