Rangers failed to sign Burnley striker Matej Vydra on deadline day.
Rangers are lacking a spark in attack right now, so Matej Vydra’s superb goal for Burnley against Southampton on Saturday afternoon will have been a major kick in the teeth.
The Glasgow Evening Times reported on deadline day in January that Rangers were making a move for Vydra, and he was set to join Steven Gerrard’s men.
However, the deadline passed without Vydra arriving, as Rangers’ one attacking reinforcement on deadline day came in Florian Kamberi.
Agent Ondrej Chovanec told Sport24 that Rangers did make a move for Vydra, as did Aston Villa, but Burnley just wouldn’t let their £11m attacker leave the club in the final hours of the window.
Vydra was given a rare chance to shine against Southampton on Saturday, coming on as a substitute for Chris Wood after just 22 minutes – and boy did he take it.
The Czech star took down a pass from Jeff Hendrick, turned his defender and slammed a stunning strike into the top corner of the net to win the game 2-1 for Burnley.
Vydra will now hope to put that deadline day disappointment behind him and kick on with Burnley, as he has now received praise from boss Sean Dyche.
Dyche has told the Daily Mail that he feels Vydra has been ‘digging in’ amid a lack of playing time, and praised his work ethic despite the rumours about his future, suggesting that he now does have a real future at Turf Moor – and possibly put paid to any hopes of Rangers signing Vydra in the summer.
“As we know, goals for strikers change your thinking at times,” said Dyche. “But I think his all-round work ethic was good and he will buzz of that. It will give him a lift as a person because he has been digging in and digging in,” he added.
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