The new Lundstram: Martin wants to make £18m star his first Rangers signing
da dobrowin： Now that Rangers have a manager in place, their transfer window activity can begin in earnest.
da dobrowin： Last week, Russell Martin was unveiled as the 20th permanent manager in Rangers’ 153-year history, but he faces a big task to guide the Gers through Champions League qualifying this summer and then, ultimately, aiming to topple their rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
That will all be a tough task, but could Martin land his dream midfield signing early into his tenure in Glasgow?
Rangers' chasing midfield reinforcements
While recruitment as far as new players are concerned hasn’t been Kevin Thelwell’s first priority since heading to Rangers, attention can now finally turn to who could improve the squad at Ibrox.
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Well, according to a report by Alan Nixon of the Scottish Sun, Martin would like Rangers to sign midfielder Flynn Downes this summer.
The 26-year-old played for Martin at Swansea and Southampton, initially on loan when the Saints gained promotion from the EFL Championship last year, before he made his move from West Ham to the South Coast permanent a year ago for a reported £18m fee.
That sky-high price tag could prove to be a severe stumbling block, considering Rangers’ record signing of all time is the £12m paid to sign Tore André Flo in 2000, while the highest fee they’ve paid in the modern era is £7.5m for Ryan Kent in 2019.
Nevertheless, after Southampton were instantaneously relegated from the Premier League after just one season back in the top-flight, there could potentially be a fire-sale at St Mary’s, with Downes possibly amongst those sacrificed.
So, could he be reunited with his former manager north of the border?
How Downes compares to Lundstram
Signing English players from down south is certainly not a new strategy for Rangers, with John Lundstram certainly one of the more successful of their imports of the modern era.
After failing to make a senior appearance for Everton, the midfielder, fair to say, was a bit of a journeyman, playing for Doncaster Rovers, Yeovil Town, Leyton Orient across two spells, Blackpool, Scunthorpe United and Oxford United.
He belatedly burst onto the scene at Sheffield United, making 62 Premier League appearances for the Blades, a key figure as Chris Wilder’s team finished ninth in 2019/20 as a newly-promoted club.
Nevertheless, it was only once he got to Glasgow that Lundstram truly found a home.
In total, the midfielder featured over 150 times for Rangers, scoring 11 goals, including the late winner against RB Leipzig that booked the club’s place in the Europa League Final, winning the Scottish Cup and League Cup, starting all three finals.
He ultimately departed for Trabzonspor on a Bosman last summer but, should Downes arrive, Rangers supporters would be hoping he could have a similar impact to that of his compatriot.
Host Dan Woffenden describes Downes as “class”, while Roshane Thomas of the Athletic labels him an excellent passer, also documenting how he ‘thrived under manager Russell Martin’ when the pair were together at Swansea.
Meantime, Chris Beaumont of Total Football Analysis praises the midfielder’s ‘fantastic engine’ and ‘physical presence’, asserting that he is one of the ‘hottest midfield prospects’ in English football.
So, let’s assess his statistics in the EFL Championship from the 2023/24 campaign.
Flynn Downes 2023/24 Championship statistics
Statistics
Downes
Championship rank
Minutes
2,550
163rd
Completed passes
2,019
29th
Pass completion %
93%
3rd
Short passes completed
1,152
12th
Touches
2,419
50th
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com
It is worth mentioning that statistics from Downes’ season in the second-tier were used due to how generally hopeless Southampton were in the Premier League this season, thereby providing a data set that is uninformative.
Also worth noting that, according to Global Football Ranking, the Championship is the 11th strongest league in the world, compared to the Scottish Premiership down in 43rd, thereby offering a slightly more comparable level.
Thus, what the numbers do underline is that Downes is a high-quality passer, ranked third for pass completion percentage, while more than half of these passes were short, between five and 15 yards.
So, in Martin’s system that prioritises possession, he could be exactly the midfielder Rangers require, potentially having an equally enormous impact at Ibrox to that of Lundstram.
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