Why Rangers are making the right move by signing Juan Alegria

As reported by Glasgow Live, Colombian striker Juan Alegria, who plays for Finnish club FC Honka, has admitted that he is closing in on a transfer to Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers.

Alegria is on the verge of completing a move to the Ibrox Stadium in the January transfer window, although there is a possibility that he could be loaned out immediately. (h/t Glasgow Live)

Profile

Born in Ibague, Colombia, Alegria started out at Tolima in his homeland and only moved to Europe this past summer, when Finnish outfit FC Honka signed him up.

Since joining them, the 18-year-old has featured four times for the club’s second-team and has racked up four goals. While the teenage striker also has six senior appearances to his name, he is yet to find the back of the net. (h/t Transfermarkt)

Alegria has represented the Colombian national team at the Under-17 level on two occasions, having made his debut in November last year.

Juan Alegria – one for the future for Rangers

Rangers strengthened their attacking unit this summer, with the signings of Kemar Roofe and Cedric Itten to join the existing contingent of Alfredo Morelos, Greg Stewart and Jermain Defoe.

However, Steven Gerrard must put a succession plan in place for Defoe, who is 38 years old already. Furthermore, Stewart hasn’t been used all too regularly by the manager and is yet to score a goal in his 14 match appearances in all competitions this season.

So bringing in a young forward, who can be groomed into eventually taking over the first-team duties from Defoe would be a good move by the Gers. Thus, signing someone like Alegria, with an eye on the future, makes total sense.

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Verdict

It is true that Alegria is still quite a raw talent with very little experience at the highest level. However, with Rangers needing to eventually replace the ageing Defoe, bringing in a youngster, who would be willing to play second fiddle before growing into the first-team role would be a smart decision.

Alegria might not be able to make a huge impact at the first-team level immediately, but can prove to be a smart investment for the Scottish giants in the long run.