Rangers transfer scouting: The John Lundstram 'upgrade' available on a free from Russia

A lot has been made of the lack of it Rangers have this summer should someone come in for a player like Joe Aribo, Ryan Kent or Alfredo Morelos. Due to their suboptimal contract status, the Ibrox club indeed have limited leverage.

One of the most leverage-altering junctures in football comes when a team is relegated, as the club and personnel take a hit financially, competitively, and reputationally. Maintaining the same squad in a division lower is mostly impossible.

The first players to hit the market for a cut-price fee are the greatest assets, the players that cannot, for one reason or another, spend a year of their career playing a division down.

Being a member of a relegated team does not necessarily indicate that you lack skill or efficacy; instead, the combination of factors within the club failed to produce a successful side. As such, there are a plethora of players around the continent whose teams are coming to terms with their relegation and will be available, a market Rangers should monitor extensively.

With this in mind, let's look at three of my personal favourite options for individuals who satisfy this criterion and could come to Ibrox and, whether now or in the future, make a tangible contribution to success.

Duplexe Tchamba, Sonderjyske

Sonderjyske were the Danish Superliga’s worst side in 2021/22, though Tchamba managed a stellar campaign for the relegation-doomed outfit.

The 23-year-old arrived in the summer of 2021 from French Ligue 1 club Strasbourg. Despite having little playing time in France, he did enjoy a previously successful stint in Scandinavia whilst on loan at Eliteserien side Stromgodset.

Tchamba stands at 191cm tall and has a strong frame, though his height and incredibly long limbs sell his physical capabilities short. More importantly, he is left-footed, an increasingly invaluable commodity for centre-backs.

Evaluating defending in general and more specifically the defensive capabilities of centre-backs through data must be taken with a pinch of salt and be accompanied with context. Tchamba played in a poor side so his defensive output will always be higher than those on the opposite side, as such his defensive metrics should be impressive.

He outperformed that expectation, ranking as the number one centre-back in the Superliga according to the rating model used. His mix of high output and success rates on the defensive side as well as a tangible role in possession is the perfect modern mix and a statistical dream.

To wet your palette a bit more, Tchamba’s data profiles as 81.28% to John Souttar and 77.25% to current Borussia Dortmund target Joseph Okumu.

Below is an excellent example of Tchamba being utilised in the build-up. His progressive passing is solid and allows his side to circumvent the midfield block and access the forwards with a single pass.

He’s aerially strong and positions himself well, though his aggressive defensive style can occasionally ruin it. Tchamba admittedly has a mistake in him, usually a misplaced short pass on build-up or, as mentioned earlier, breaking the defensive line to maraud forward, leaving his teammates with unsuitable structure and protection.

Though the jeopardy involved in these occasional mistakes drops significantly when playing in a possession-heavy and athletic side like Rangers.

Tchamba is valued at £360,000 by TransferMarkt and joined the Danish side last summer for a fee similar to that valuation.

Despite impressing this season, his team's relegation means that they cannot operate in an echo chamber and must bend to the market at some point.

READ MORE: Rangers transfer scouting: The Celtic-slayer that could fill goalscoring midfielder void

Filip Helander and Calvin Bassey are Rangers' current left-footed options. Still, for differing reasons, both are unlikely to have futures at Ibrox past the summer of 2023.

Given Tchamba's thrifty fee and appropriate skill-set, he could be brought in this summer without adding much pressure to the bank balance with the idea of him taking Helander's minutes when his contract expires.

Stian Gregersen, Bordeaux

Gregersen, like Tchamba, is another left-footed centre-back whose arrival could go a long way to addressing the uncertainty around Bassey and Helander. Gregersen spent his early days in Sweden before moving to Norwegian giants Molde and impressing there before earning his big move to Bordeaux in the summer of 2021.

Gregersen, unlike Tchamba, is firmly in his prime at 27, so you know exactly what you are getting from him. He too stands at 191cm but has a more muscular frame, though they share a good athletic profile, headlined by decent speed, strength and a good leap.

Despite playing for the financially crippled and relegation-doomed Bordeaux, Gregersen managed to rank highly against all Ligue 1 centre-backs, as seen in the graphic below. This is mainly due to his value in possession and his aggressive and intelligent positioning, which seems him win plenty of interceptions and block shots.

Gregersen is surprisingly quick due to his very long legs. Though he doesn’t have the blistering recovery pace of Bassey, he can compete with most forwards and contain them somewhat. A great example can be seen in the three screenshots below, where he manages to keep pace, jockey, and finally dispossess the Montpellier forward, who would have been one-vs-one if not for the Norwegian.

Despite not enjoying many opportunities whilst at Bordeaux, when at Molde, Gregersen was a fantastic and reliable build-up option for a possession heavy-side who were not too dissimilar to Rangers.

His left foot would pair well with Connor Goldson or John Souttar beside him, or perhaps both should Rangers move to a three at the back. He is also a capable and confident dribbler, which allows him to break lines easier and forces defenders to consistently stay on their feet. Below is an example of Gregersen’s effective switches of play, which proved valuable to Molde’s early progression.

Gregersen has limited sell-on value outside of the first 12 months he’s at Rangers, where if he excels, the club could sell him back to a top-five league with a healthy profit.

Bordeaux paid £1.8m for his services last summer, but with their double relegation and financial meltdown, any fee may do. It’s mainly a question of whether you can get Helander out of the door before Gregersen likely leaves France.

Oliver Abildgaard, Rubin Kazan

This article could have been populated exclusively by Rubin Kazan players, given the talent they boast within their ranks. The Tatar club’s relegation to the FNL was an embarrassment and one of 2021/22’s biggest shocks.

READ MORE: Rangers transfer scouting: The flying Norwegian ball carrying winger who could replace Ryan Kent

Given that Rangers are not precisely exhausted of options in the number six role, coupled with the rarity of getting someone of Oliver Abildgaard’s ability for a discount, this avenue is incredibly attractive.

The 26-year-old is a very tall and athletic midfielder, standing at 193cm and boasting good pace and strength. These physical tools are invaluable in the spine of any side, as he provides the duality of being technically and physically capable of playing in most shapes and against most opponents.

Despite being generally well-rounded, Abildgaard’s greatest strengths are progressing the ball and shuttling around the defensive third breaking up play. This is a perfect combination of traits as they are scalable to the European level and work well in tandem and within the Rangers midfield's structure, shape, and roles.

The Dane is ranked in the top 80% of Russian Premier League central and defensive midfielders for his end-of-season rating, which is impressive given his side's fate and the breadth of quality at his position in the division.

His long legs, decent pace, and positional sense make him a precious option in transition, stopping or delaying opponent charges. Below is an excellent example of that; before the tackle, he tracked the ball carrier from the other half before taking his time to choose to engage cleanly and successfully.

Despite early build-up and ball progression being his favoured in-possession environment, Abildgaard does retain value in the opposition's half. He has the finesse and technique to beat his opponents, whether through a pass or dribble; an example of the former can be seen below.

One could argue that what Abildgaard offers is primarily covered by the likes of John Lundstram and Ryan Jack, which is true in a sense. However, given Jack’s injury history, it would be reckless to suggest having two 6s would be overkill, especially given Giovanni van Bronckhorst's use of two in domestic and continental play.

Also, for what it is worth, Abildgaard is, arguably, better than both. Rubin signed the Dane for £1.8m 24 months ago, and his value has gradually increased to today’s value of £6.3m.

Rangers obviously won’t be able to offer anything in that ballpark; however, given Rubin’s relegation and the general Russian context, his fee should be closer to 50-75% of that established value.

With potential departures elsewhere in the midfield, finances shouldn’t be much of a deterrent; spending upwards of £4m on Abildgaard would prove fantastic business and a great example of taking advantage of external circumstances.