Why Lyle Taylor could be an impressive signing for Rangers

According to The Scottish Sun (h/t Sky Sports), Scottish giants Rangers have joined the race to sign in-demand Charlton Atheltic star Lyle Taylor, who is also on the radar of several clubs south of the border. 

The Scottish Sun (h/t Daily Record) understands that EFL Championship promotion-chasers West Brom, Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City have all registered an interest in the 29-year-old, who is also being monitored by Premier League sides Norwich City, Burnley and Sheffield United. (h/t Lancashire Live)

Taylor, who bagged 25 goals in 45 appearances in the previous campaign to fire Charlton to promotion in League One via the playoffs, set the stage on fire in the Championship back in August, scoring 5 times in 6 appearances to guide the Addicks to a blistering start to life in the second-tier. 

The Greenwich-born frontman then suffered a dreadful knee injury that sidelined him for the next three months but he returned to action earlier in December and has played a couple of cameos for Lee Bowyer’s side ever since. 

Despite his lack of involvement over the past three months, Taylor has emerged as a hot property ahead of the mid-season trading period and Rangers have now joined the pursuit of the 29-year-old, who is out of contract at The Valley in the summer of 2020. 

The report doesn’t clearly mention whether Rangers are lining up a swoop for him in January or they are prepared to nab him on a free transfer next year, but Charlton manager Bowley is hopeful of retaining the services of his star striker moving forward. 

Meanwhile, Rangers have fought back after suffering a couple of setbacks last week. Having dropped points in a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership and lost 1-0 to Celtic in the Betfred Cup final, the Gers bounced back to secure a spot in the last 32 of the Europa League with a 1-1 draw against Young Boys on Matchday 6 while also cruising to a 2-0 victory over Motherwell on Sunday. 

The Ibrox giants are currently two points behind arch-rivals Celtic atop the domestic standings but Steven Gerrard will know that there is still a long way to go in the title race and a single slip-up from the Hoops could be enough to nullify the narrow deficit. 

To put things into perspective, Rangers already have Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe competing for a role up top week in, week out, and while they aren’t really crying out for a new striker in January, Lyle Taylor could be an incredible acquisition on a free transfer next year.

The Gers might also opt to go down the path of negotiating a pre-contract agreement with Taylor when the transfer window reopens in January, given that he will have only six months left to run on his current deal at Charlton by then.

Gerrard showed his acumen by using such a policy to bring the likes of Jordan Jones and Jake Hastie to Ibrox earlier in the year and the 29-year-old could be the next in the queue.

Morelos has been simply unstoppable for the Gers over the past two seasons but his red-hot form has already drawn admiring glances from several bigger clubs in Europe, including a few in the Premier League (h/t Sky Sports).

The Colombian is under contract until 2023 but Rangers might be forced to part ways with their star striker in the near future should they receive an offer that they simply can’t turn down.

Verdict

Completing a permanent deal for Defoe certainly looks like a viable option, but not when it comes to planning for the long term, given that the former England international is set to turn 38 next year. 

Lyle Taylor, on the other hand, seems like a better long term alternative and Rangers shouldn’t hesitate to strike a deal for him irrespective of what the future holds for Morelos. 

Joe Aribo, who starred alongside Taylor in the EFL League One last season prior to his arrival at Ibrox this past summer, has proven himself to be an inspired addition to Gerrard’s ranks and the 29-year-old striker looks more than capable of following in the Nigerian’s footsteps.

Interestingly, Taylor also has some decent experience of playing in Scotland, besides his wealth of exploits across various divisions in English football.

The Charlton man previously bagged 29 goals in 42 appearances for Falkirk in the Scottish First Division during the 2012-13 campaign while also spending a couple of seasons on loan at Partick Thistle in the top-flight.

To that end, Taylor is no stranger to the game north of the border and his previous experience could make it a whole lot easier for him to settle down quickly at Rangers and make an immediate impact from next season onwards.

More Rangers News

• Why Jarrad Branthwaite must snub Celtic and join Rangers
• Betfred Cup: Two things that went wrong for Morelos against Celtic
• Why Rangers should take a punt on Adrian Akande

All in all, Rangers’ links with Lyle Taylor certainly strikes the right chords for a number of reasons and this is a move that could pay off handsomely for the Gers as they look to end their drought for silverware moving forward under Gerrard.