Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers are feeling the absence of Josh Windass more and more.
Not many tears were shed from Rangers fans last summer when Josh Windass left.
The 25-year-old quit Rangers after a two-year spell in Glasgow to join Championship side Wigan Athletic.
Windass netted 18 goals for the Gers last season from attacking midfield but, despite his brilliant form, he was never a hugely popular figure among fans of the Ibrox club.
But even his most staunchest critics must accept that Steven Gerrard’s side would be far better this season if they had him.
Rangers’ highest scoring midfielder this season is Scott Arfield with seven goals in all competitions, 11 less than Windass managed last season.
Arfield did okay in the light Blues’ 1-1 draw at Hibernian on Friday night, but he is no Windass. He isn’t the number 10 that Gerrard has badly needed since the Englishman left. He isn’t going to score a huge goal when the strikers – Alfredo Morelos, in the case of Easter Road last night – aren’t at the races.
The former Accrington man did leave the club on deadline day, giving Gerrard virtually no time in which to get a replacement, but in that case you have to wonder if the 37-year-old manager made a big, big mistake in letting him leave.
It wasn’t even as if he went for huge money, with The Scottish Sun reporting the fee for Windass – who has scored five Championship goals – was only £2 million.
Bearing in mind Morelos is probably going to have a 30-goal season, would Rangers be eight points behind Celtic in the Premiership if they had kept Windass? We’ll never know, but it’s doubtful.
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