Glasgow Rangers have endured a largely miserable season and are arguably crying out for a leader and talisman.
Everton’s Tom Davies in action with Stoke City’s Charlie Adam
According to transfermarkt, Charlie Adam’s contract at Stoke City is set to expire at the end of the season. And while Mark Hughes has previously spoken about activating the option in his deal that will see him earn a one-year extension (via Stoke Sentinel), Rangers surely have to be ready to pounce if an opportunity presents itself.
At the beginning of this season, Mark Warburton looked to the likes of Clint Hill, Joey Barton and Niko Kranjcar to help lead their predominantly young side through their first campaign back in the Scottish Premiership.
While Hill has done well at times, Barton is no longer with the Gers after a short but eventful spell while Kranjcar is recovering from a long-term injury so there are bound to be doubts over whether he will be able to make an impact at Ibrox again.
That lack of a leader in the middle of the park has seriously cost Rangers this season, and they simply cannot afford to begin the next campaign without addressing the problem.
If Adam does end up moving towards the exit at the Bet365 Stadium, the Gers simply have to make him a priority signing this summer. And while it may be an ambitious deal in the sense that they may not be able to offer the kind of lucrative contract that the 31-year-old may be looking for, they may just be able to tempt him back for sentimental reasons, especially if few other offers come in.
Adam began his professional career at Ibrox, and made 87 appearances before departing for Blackpool in 2009. He was the talisman for the Seasiders, leading them to the Premier League and almost keeping them up with some brilliant displays.
A look at his Twitter page highlights that he still follows Rangers – he made a couple of comments during their defeat to Inverness on Friday night – so the opportunity to go back and become a talisman at Ibrox will surely be a tempting one.
Of course, it may be an ambitious deal on Rangers’ part – certainly, too ambitious if he does agree a new deal with the Potters – but they need to show some ambition in the transfer market this summer if they hope to start closing the gap to Celtic.
Having his quality in the middle of the park and his presence in the dressing room will not solve all of Rangers’ problems, but it will surely give the team a much greater chance of putting whatever chaos is going on behind the scenes to the back of their minds and playing like a club that is moving in the right direction.
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