Glasgow Rangers dodged a bullet by not signing FC Nordsjaelland forward Isaac Atanga, after it emerged that Ross Wilson had expressed an interest in signing the former uncapped Ghana U20 international in the summer.
What was the story?
According to Ghanaian outlet Kickgh.com, Steven Gerrard’s side were interested in signing the right winger, who can also be deployed as a forward or on the left wing.
It’s claimed that the Gers had even held talks with the Tigers, although Atanga had also attracted attention from several top European clubs including Alaves, Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Feyenoord, meaning they would have had to battle it out to land the 20-year-old’s services.
Nordsjaelland had reportedly slapped a €9m (£8m) asking price on his head, which would have been a rather expensive pill for Rangers to swallow, as you are about to find out.
Worse than Brandon Barker!
The Ibrox outfit were ready to raid the Danish top flight for Atanga after he struck seven goals and supplied five assists in 35 games in all competitions last season.
Belgian side Brugge were also monitoring the one-time Gers target at one stage, but it appears they cooled their interest whilst Nordsjaelland rebuffed interest from elsewhere as they held firm on their initial asking price and a move failed to materialise in the summer.
However, Gerrard appears to have dodged a bullet, given Atanga’s struggles in the 2020/21 season so far. It’s fair to say that the goals have started to dry up for the young Ghanaian, as he has failed to find the back of the net in the Superligaen since the 1-1 draw with Odense BK back in September.
Meanwhile, Brandon Barker, who’s playing time has been limited in the Scottish Premiership (30% minutes) this season so far, and has mostly appeared as a substitute for that matter, has scored one goal in seven games in the top flight, via Transfermarkt.
By comparison, Atanga, who has featured regularly for the Tigers (72% minutes), has also only scored once in seven league appearances, although this shows that he has a far worse minutes-to-goals ratio than the 24-year-old at the time of writing.
Once praised for his “great start” by Flemming Pedersen last term, the attacking midfielder has struggled for consistency this season, as he started the first three fixtures in a row, before he was benched for the 4-1 win over FC Midtjylland, making a brief cameo as a substitute, which will give the Gers plenty of reasons why they must avoid him at all costs. After all, the last thing they need is another misfiring forward.
When you consider the fact that the £1.8m-rated ace is still largely unproven at the top levels of the game, you do have to wonder why Wilson was ever even interested in him in the first place.
AND in other news, Ross Wilson must reward Glasgow Rangers ace Glen Kamara with new contract…
The post Worse than Barker: Glasgow Rangers dodged a bullet in one-time target Isaac Atanga first appeared on FootballFanCast.com.
