Rangers could land dream Cortes strike partner with late move for 5ft9 “wrecking ball” – opinion

Glasgow Rangers are expected to have a busy conclusion to the January transfer season,

with the club hoping to complete a number of transactions before the deadline.

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According to journalist Pranav Shahaney, the Scottish giants are close to signing left-back Jefte and winger Oscar Cortes.

According to the reporter, Light Blues head coach Philippe Clement would also like to

acquire another number nine option following the injuries to Danilo and Kemar Roofe.

Rangers reportedly contacted Leeds United about a possible deal to capture England youth international

Joe Gelhardt from the Championship club earlier this month.

He has yet to go and may be an interesting addition to the Gers as a potential partner for Cortes at

the top of the pitch in the second half of the season

if they can reach an agreement with the Whites to obtain his services.

Cortes’ Creative Potential

The Lens winger is likely to join the Light Blues to improve their options out wide,

and the 20-year-old prodigy has the potential to be a creative force on the club.

Cortes impressed at the U20 World Cup for Colombia last summer, scoring four goals,

assisting twice, and creating four ‘great opportunities’ in five matches.

He also made 3.4 crucial passes per game, while James Tavernier (3.0) is

the only Rangers player with more than 2.0 important passes per game in the Scottish Premiership this season.

Cortes has only made four substitute appearances in Ligue 1, but he has scored and assisted,

indicating that he has the potential to be a strong scorer and creator out wide,

as evidenced by his performance at the U20 World Cup.

If he can adapt his encouraging performances for his country to the Premier League,

the Colombian maestro has the potential to routinely create high-quality chances for the club’s starting centre forward.

Joe Gelhardt’s Goalscoring Potential

Gelhardt, like the Lens youngster, would be a risky move for Rangers because the 21-year-old marksman

has yet to demonstrate his worth at the senior level consistently.

The England U20 international has shown flashes of talent,

as evidenced by his Premier League record for Leeds in the table below,

but has failed to reach the back of the net on a consistent basis,

with five goals in 69 games for Sunderland and the Whites in all competitions combined.

Premier League	Joe Gelhardt (via Transfermarkt)
Appearances	35
Starts	Five
Goals	Two
Assists	Six

However, the £14,000-per-week whiz, dubbed a “human wrecking ball” by Jamie Redknapp,

was a prolific junior player for Wigan and the Yorkshire club.

5 foot 9 Gelhardt scored five goals in five games for Wigan’s U18s and has 20 goals and six assists in 31 U21 appearances for his current club.

25 goals and six assists in 36 youth matches is an incredible return,

but he has yet to reproduce it in a senior situation,

which is why Rangers would be taking a risk by signing him.

respectively, they might constitute an interesting tandem in the final third for Clement,

with the former supplying the latter to fire in goals in the Premiership.

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