Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement has been hit with a mini injury crisis in the central defensive position at Ibrox in recent weeks.
Leon Balogun, John Souttar, and Nerayshow Kasanwirjo are all currently out with injuries and Dujon Sterling has had to fill in at centre-back in the last few matches.
The Daily Record have reported that a number of players are under consideration by the board and Clement, with Manchester United’s Jonny Evans and former Gers ace Nikola Katic mentioned as possible options.
Rangers, however, must be careful in deciding what route to go down with this move, as they have not always been successful in signing centre-backs in the January transfer window.
Rangers' centre-back howler in January 2018
Back at the start of 2018, in the middle of the 2017/18 campaign, Graeme Murty was looking to bolster his options at the heart of his defence and opted to sign Russell Martin on loan from Norwich City.
The 32-year-old Scotland international found himself on the fringes of Daniel Farke’s Yellows team and made the move up north to play for the Light Blues.
He went on to play 17 matches in the second half of that season, scoring one goal, and later, during his time as Swansea’s manager, revealed that he apologised to Rangers fans for not being good enough at Ibrox.
Football FanCast once published an article, after a 5-0 defeat to Celtic in 2018, that included Tweets from Gers supporters who were less than complimentary about his loan move.
Ultimately, it was a transfer that did not work out as Rangers brought in a declining player who could not get a game at Norwich in the second division in England as a short-term fix, and Nils Koppen could repeat that disaster by signing Grant Hanley.
Why Rangers should not sign Grant Hanley
The Pink’Un, the local outlet in Norfolk, mentioned on Monday that Rangers have been named as a possible destination for the Scotland international, who has only started one league game this season.
Since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, the 33-year-old dud has only started seven of his 11 appearances in the Championship for the Canaries.
He is a vastly experienced player, with Premier League and international experience, but his form over the past 18 months suggests that it would be a repeat of the deal to sign Martin in 2018.
Appearances
11
Starts
7
Clean sheets
1
Error led to shot
1
Error led to goal
2
As you can see in the table above, Hanley has made three errors that have directly led to shots or goals for the opposition in just seven starts since the start of last term.
These statistics suggest that the £30k-per-week dud, who would be the joint-top earner with James Tavernier on that reported wage, is error-prone and not the kind of player Clement would be able to rely upon week-in-week-out in a race to win trophies this season.
Rangers need quality options to compete with Celtic and in Europe and signing an ageing player who has struggled to get games for Norwich does not appear to be what they need, as was the case when they decided to go through with a deal for Martin in 2018.
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Therefore, Koppen and the Gers should look elsewhere in their pursuit of a central defender to come in and ease their injury woes in the coming months.