Why Rangers signing Gustavo Hamer would bolster their midfield
According to the Press Association (h/t Daily Record), Rangers have been linked with a move for Dutch-Brazilian midfielder Gustavo Hamer, who currently plies his trade with Coventry City in the EFL Championship.
As per the report, Hamer’s impressive debut season at Coventry in the English second-tier has put several clubs across the country on red alert. Rangers, though, are hoping to lure him north of the border as Steven Gerrard lines up midfielder reinforcements with one eye on the future.
Profile
Born in Brazil, Hamer moved to the Netherlands as a youngster and completed his footballing education at Feyenoord. However, he made just a couple of league appearances for his boyhood club and shot to prominence with PEC Zwolle in the Eredivisie.
After a decent first season at the club, Hamer caught the eye with an impressive tally of 4 goals and 6 assists in 25 appearances last term. (h/t Transfermarkt)
That was enough to warrant him a move to newly-promoted Championship club Coventry City, who paid £1.2m to secure the 23-year-old midfielder’s services this past summer.
Hamer has established himself as a key cog in the engine room under Mark Robins, registering 4 goals and two assists in just 19 league appearances so far. Those numbers are really impressive, considering that he has largely been utilised in a deep midfield role.
Rangers need midfield reinforcements
Rangers are currently well-stocked in the middle of the park but it would make sense for Gerrard to weigh up a reshuffle in that department. Despite nearing his twilight at 36, Steven Davis has already played in excess of 30 games so far this season.
Ryan Jack remains the first-choice holding midfielder in the manager’s preferred three-man midfield system, but the Scotland international has had his fair share of struggles with injuries.
With Scott Arfield also not getting any younger at 32 and loanee Bongani Zungu only regarded as a temporary fix at Ibrox, the Gers need to have one eye on alternatives.
Putting things into context, Gustavo Hamer ticks plenty of boxes to come through the door at Ibrox as a quality addition to Rangers’ midfield. The Brazilian has already proven his worth in the Eredivisie and in the EFL Championship while he still has plenty of room for development at 23.
Hamer has been profiled as a defensive midfielder but is also more than capable of slotting into a box-to-box role, thanks to his eye for goal and work rate. As evident from his heat man in the Championship, the Brazilian covers a lot of ground and is adept at contributing at both ends of the pitch. Hence, his inclusion in the ranks would allow Gerrard the freedom to rotate him between No.6 and No.8 positions in his 4-3-3 system.
Read More:
- Why Dan Glazer to Rangers would bolster their midfield
- Why Rangers should continue their pursuit of Patrik Hrosovsky
Verdict
Rangers have made significant progress under Gerrard over the past couple of years and are now pretty much the hot favourites to end Celtic’s stranglehold on the domestic front. But there’s certainly no room for complacency, meaning the Gers should continue to look for quality players in the market to upgrade their squad.
Having said that, a potential deal for Gustavo Hamer would put them in good stead to build on their recent success in the coming seasons. Gerrard has previously raided the Football League for the likes of Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun and Hamer certainly has the qualities to establish himself as a key player at Rangers in the coming seasons.
