Rangers signed a number of players under Mark Warburton that may not be remembered at Ibrox. Matt Crooks is absolutely one of them.
Nathan Oduwa, Maciej Gostomski and Billy King will be remembered by few Rangers fans from that era.
Midfielder Crooks signed a pre-contract agreement in January 2016 to join Rangers at the end of the season.
Crooks, formerly of Huddersfield Town, joined alongside Accrington teammate Josh Windass having excelled in League Two.
Whilst Windass became a first-team star at Rangers, that didn’t happen for Crooks.
Crooks managed just two league appearances for Rangers before heading to Scunthorpe United on loan. Just a year after joining Rangers, Crooks had left permanently for Northampton Town.
Crooks had to rebuild his career again, shining as a goalscoring midfielder. Nine goals in 51 for Northampton earned him a 2018 move for Rotherham, where he bagged 18 goals in 89 games.
This past summer, Crooks made another step up, joining Middlesbrough. Now 27, Crooks has continued to score, bagging four in 23 games for Boro.
A physical threat at 6ft 4in tall whilst also being more than adept on the ball, Crooks has moved past his Rangers struggles to become a Middlesbrough star.
Crooks played a key role in Sunday’s 2-0 home win over Forest, leading to huge praise on Twitter.
Maybe, just maybe, Crooks is a player that Rangers gave up on a little too early having become a fan favourite at the Riverside Stadium.
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