Rangers now hold a key advantage over Old Firm rivals Celtic in the race for a “dangerous” striker, who they are likely to pursue this summer.
Gers set sights on centre-forward amid title race
The Scottish Premiership title race took a fresh twist at the weekend, and it swung in the favour of Hearts, who edged out a narrow 1-0 win at home against Falkirk to extend their lead at the top of the table to four points.
The Gers, on the other hand, slipped up against bottom of the table Livingston, but they at least managed to get another point on the board, after fighting back to draw 2-2, whereas Celtic were defeated 2-1 by Hibernian at Parkhead.
Mikey Moore was hard done by not to be awarded a late penalty, after being brought down by Cammy Kerr, and even Chris Sutton admitted the referee should’ve pointed to the spot, saying: “I think it’s inside the box. He slides outside the box but I think the contact comes inside the box. I might be wrong, but I think that’s a shocker.”
The 18-year-old has caught the eye in recent weeks, picking up two goals and one assist in his last four Scottish Premiership outings, but Danny Rohl is still lacking a reliable goalscorer, with right-back James Tavenier the Light Blues’ joint-top scorer, having found the net on seven occasions.
Rohl could be looking to put that right in the summer transfer window, however, with a report from Football Insider revealing Rangers are likely to reignite their interest in Leeds United striker Joel Piroe at the end of the campaign.
The Ibrox outfit were interested in securing Piroe’s signature during the January transfer window, and the same can be said of Celtic, who even held talks over a deal for the Dutchman.
Having fallen down the pecking order at Elland Road, the 26-year-old could be forced to move on this summer, and the Gers being owned by the same 49ers group as Leeds gives them a key advantage over their Glasgow rivals.
“Dangerous” Piroe needs to leave Leeds this summer
Lauded as a “dangerous” player by journalist Josh Bunting, the former Swansea City man established himself as a Championship star in the four seasons prior to this one, playing a major role in Leeds achieving promotion last year.
|
Joel Piroe’s attacking record |
Championship appearances |
Goal involvements |
|
2021-22 |
45 |
28 |
|
2022-23 |
43 |
21 |
|
2023-24 |
42 |
16 |
|
2024-25 |
46 |
26 |
However, since making the step-up to the Premier League, the Wijchen-born marksman has struggled to make the same type of impact, featuring for just 208 minutes across 11 top flight games this season, and failing to score a single goal.
As such, it is clear Piroe needs to move on at the end of the season, and the £40k-a-week striker’s previous exploits in the Championship suggest he could have what it takes to become a Scottish Premiership star.
Rangers’ top 15 goalscorers of all time
Rangers have had plenty of natural goalscorers at Ibrox over the last 150 years.