Is Lassana Coulibaly pushing to be Rangers’ top target next summer?

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Glasgow Rangers loanee Lassana Coulibaly has made a fantastic start to life at Ibrox.

It is probably fair to suggest that one of Steven Gerrard’s most intriguing signings from his first summer as Rangers boss was Lassana Coulibaly, with the young midfielder arriving at Ibrox on a season-long loan.

A number of established players arrived, while Gerrard has also shown that he is more than happy to use his Liverpool contacts to get signings in. But, like Nikola Katic and Umar Sadiq, Coulibaly did not fit into either category. He is a Mali international and has made plenty of appearances in the French leagues considering that he is only 22, but he was probably not a name that many Rangers fans would have known about before his arrival.

And yet, just five appearances into his Rangers loan spell, it is perhaps fair to suggest that Coulibaly is already threatening to establish himself as the player that the club have to put at the top of their wishlist for next summer.

The midfielder has been a revelation so far. He bagged a goal in the win over Maribor last week and has generally been fantastic in the middle of the park for the Scottish Premiership side.

His early form suggests that he could be a frighteningly special talent in the coming years, especially as he is working under the likes of Gerrard and Gary McAllister who should have little problem explaining what he needs to do to become a brilliant midfielder.

Rangers fans may be reluctant to get carried away given that there have been plenty of loanees in recent times who have looked extremely impressive at the start of their spells at Ibrox before tailing off significantly. But Coulibaly’s form hints that he could prove to be one of the club’s most inspired additions from this summer.

And if he continues to play at his current level over the coming weeks, it would be little surprise if the Rangers hierarchy already started to seriously think about what it is going to take to get a permanent deal done.