Glasgow Rangers manager Michael Beale led the Light Blues to a comeback victory in the Premiership on Thursday night, and it marked a solid start for the 42-year-old at Ibrox.
With January just around the corner and a need for a couple of fresh faces at the club due to injury problems and a lack of quality, Beale will be kept busy.
However, it appears that he could be close to making his first signing of his Rangers tenure, with former Chelsea wonderkid Alex Kpakpe set to be offered a contract with the Ibrox club.
The Athletic claimed that the Gers are interested in the 18-year-old, who is currently a free agent. He even played a bounce game for Rangers and, if signed, he would go straight into the academy setup.
Primarily a left-back, he can also play at centre-back or even in midfield if required, and the move feels eerily similar to that of Calvin Bassey’s to Ibrox.
Bassey was at Leicester City when he signed a pre-contract agreement in June 2020, and Rangers only had to pay training compensation for the then 20-year-old left-back.
After two seasons at Ibrox, in which he had to cover at both left-back and centre-back due to injury problems, Bassey moved to Ajax for a club-record sale of £23m in the summer.
There is no reason why Kpakpe can’t follow in the same footsteps as Bassey and continue his development at Rangers.
According to The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell, The youngster’s strength is his “power in transition”, which might remind the Ibrox faithful of the former Light Blues defender.
Once he took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Beale said that he would give young talent a chance going forward, and he has a plethora of potential at his disposal in the Light Blues’ academy.
If Kpakpe does join, he would face competition from both Johnly Yfeko and Kevin Ciubotaru on the left flank and may need to target other positions in order to prove to Beale that he can be a success at the club.
The next few weeks could be an interesting time for the Ibrox faithful, with a few new faces hopefully heading toward the first team.