With the January transfer window just around the corner, the onus will be on the Belgian coach to sign another few new faces to bolster his squad.

Rangers transfer news

The club is usually linked to a few players at this time of year, and 2023 is no exception.

Ben Godfrey, a defender, has been linked to a move to Ibrox in recent weeks, while Mason Holgate, another center-back, is another player the club has recently expressed interest in.

The club has apparently expressed interest in Portuguese striker Fabio Silva, who is expected to depart Wolverhampton Wanderers next month, according to the most recent rumours.

Clement recently lost Danilo to a serious knee injury which could keep him out until April at the earliest, and this is a major blow for the club.

Not only that, but the Light Blues could also lose Cyriel Dessers and Abdallah Sima to their respective nations when the African Cup of Nations takes place next month, and that would leave the 49-year-old coach short of attacking options.

Given that the club appeared interested in Viktor Gyokeres, a player who excelled in the English Championship last year, this problem might have been averted had Beale taken more decisive action to sign him.

Now that he is playing for Sporting CP in Portugal, fans of the Gers, as well as Beale, may be wondering, “What could have been?”

When Rangers wanted to sign Viktor Gyokeres

The 2022–23 season was a fantastic one for the Swedish striker and Coventry City, who just lost out on promotion to the Premier League.

Gyokeres had a successful season in front of goal in the Championship, scoring 21 goals and grabbing 10 more assists. It was evident that this generated a lot of interest from a distance.

The Light Blues enquired about how much Coventry would expect for a player of his magnitude during the summer and the Sky Blues slapped a £20m valuation on his hand, which was seemingly too much of a fee for the Ibrox side.

It was hardly a likely move in the first place, but signing someone who could find the back of the net as easily as the 25-year-old may have solved Beale’s problems.

Instead, he secured the signatures of Dessers, Sam Lammers, and Danilo, who have scored 14 goals between them throughout the 2023/24 campaign – three fewer than Gyokeres’ total at Sporting in the same time period.

It is clear that Beale had a shocker about failing to try and work out a deal for the Swede, especially with the way he is playing plus the fact he could have secured the Gers a major profit after a couple of seasons in Scotland.

Rangers could have secured a terrific young player, who was coming off the back of a sensational season, with room to grow and, instead, signed then-28-year-old Dessers after his six-goal haul in the Serie A.

Viktor Gyokeres’ season in numbers

The former Coventry striker’s outstanding form has seen Arsenal, a Premier League team, show interest in him ahead of the January transfer window. This indicates a remarkable rise over the previous year.

The Portuguese team paid £20 million for him in the summer, so after just six months, they won’t want to go with one of their most valuable assets.

They would have no choice, however, if a potential suitor pays his €100m (£87m) release cause, and it would ensure they received a stunning profit for just a few months of service for the player.

Gyokeres was hailed by his former teammate Maxime Biamou as “unplayable” during his spell in the Championship last season, while manager Mark Robins claimed that he was “one of a kind” earlier this year, and it proves just how big an impact he made at Coventry.

Sporting also plays in Europe, so it was a significant test for the player to repeat the form he had shown in England, even though the £20 million definitely looked extravagant.

He’s passed thus far with no problems. The 25-year-old has not only scored 17 goals in all competitions, but he also leads the team in goals and assists (15), shots on goal per game (1.3), and successful dribbles per game (2.5). These statistics demonstrate how important the player has been to his new team this season.

Not only has he impressed among his own team, but the striker is also one of the best performers when compared to his positional peers across the continent.

Indeed, when compared to other strikers in men’s next top 14 competitions over the previous 12 months, Gyokeres ranks in the top 1% for progressive carries (4.41), touches in the attacking penalty area (8.12), and assists (0.38) per 90 while also ranking in the top 3% for successful take-ons (2.41) per 90 and the top 2% for shot-creating actions per 90 (4.52) and these statistics make him an attractive choice of signing for a variety of teams.

He will only get better too, which is the scary thing, and it represents an opportunity missed that the Gers may look back on in a few years with some regret, especially judging by the mammoth release clause inserted into his contract.

Instead, Clement will have to power on by using the likes of Dessers and Kemar Roofe (when fit) as his attacking options, and it is clear something needs to be done about this next month.

The January transfer window has been rather fruitful for the Light Blues in recent seasons, with players such as Todd Cantwell, Ianis Hagi, and Nico Raskin and someone along these lines who could bolster the squad would be a big bonus in the chase for glory this term.