Glasgow Rangers have Lassana Coulibaly on loan at Ibrox until the end of the season.
Steven Gerrard has suggested that Lassana Coulibaly’s price-tag could put Rangers off making his loan move permanent at the end of the season, in comments reported by the Daily Record.
Coulibaly has endured a mixed loan spell with the Gers. During the opening months of his stay, it appeared to be a no-brainer for Rangers to make his move from Angers permanent as he was exceptional.
However, his form seemed to tail off towards the end of 2018 and he is yet to rediscover his best performances in recent times. And since his arrival, the likes of Glen Kamara, Steven Davis and Matt Polster were signed in January to add to the competition in the middle of the park.
And Gerrard seemed to admit that Rangers may well decide against keeping Coulibaly beyond the end of the campaign when his loan deal ends.
“The price tag for Lassana could be prohibitive. It’s a big consideration,” he said, as reported by the Daily Record. “We like the player but there’s a lot of things involved. Price, salary, his contract at Angers [two years left] and whether there will be interest from other clubs. It’s a complicated one but we do like him.
“At the same time, you have to cover yourself and signing Kamara was a no-brainer for us. He and Coulibaly could play together but one is maybe suited for a certain type of game and the other for a different type.”
If Coulibaly can recapture the form that he showed during the opening weeks of the season, it may look like a big mistake to not sign the 22-year-old permanently – even with the number of other options that Gerrard has.
But unfortunately, the youngster has now plenty of work to do to prove that he is a player that needs to be on Gerrard’s summer wishlist.
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