Rangers beat deadline and prepare for major upgrade deal for Celmitie

Glasgow Rangers supporters were treated to surprising news on Tuesday as it was revealed the club had rejected an offer for Youssef Chelmiti.

Journalist Chris Jack reports that the Light Blues have rejected a £13m offer from Turkish side Fenerbahce for the Portuguese centre-forward, with the club not considering leaving him before the end of this period.

Jack added that the Portugal Under-21 international, who was signed from Everton for £8m last summer, will not be sold as Danny Rolle’s side chase the Scottish Premiership title.

The chance to earn an instant £5 million for a player who has scored just four goals in 25 games in all competitions, according to Sofascore, must have been tempting, but the Gers held firm.

Rangers focus on late transfer of Premier League striker

Despite reports earlier this month that the Scottish giants were not considering a move for Chelmiti, the club are reportedly keen to add another striker to their squad.

Glasgow Rangers are one of a number of clubs preparing to make a late move to sign Leeds United centre-forward Joel Pillow before the end of the January transfer window, according to Ipswich specialist TWTD.

The report mainly focuses on Ipswich’s interest in the Dutch-born star, who is set to represent Suriname at international level in the future, making it clear that talk of a bid from the Championship side is premature.

He added that the Tractor Boys, Rangers, Celtic, Crystal Palace and a number of other Championship clubs are eyeing a deal for the left-footed attacker, who fell down the pecking order at Elland Road.

However, TWTD did not reveal how much the Whites plan to ask for their top scorer for the 2024/25 season, or whether they are prepared to grant him a loan.

Why Rangers should sign Joel Pillow from Leeds

Rangers should push to win the race for the 26-year-old centre-forward. That’s because his proven goalscoring qualities would see him join Celmitie at Ibrox as a huge upgrade in place of Rolle.

Piroué finds life in the Premier League difficult, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lucas Nmeka higher on his priority list, but that doesn’t mean he’s a poor player and he has a striker who has won caps in England and Germany.

Once hailed as a “dangerous” player by journalist Josh Bunting, the left-footed star proved his scoring prowess, scoring regularly over four seasons at that level during his time in the Championship with both Leeds and Swansea.

Pillow has scored 73 goals in 179 appearances in the Championship, with at least 13 goals in each of his four seasons at Swansea and Leeds, proving he is a consistent goalscorer.

However, according to Sofascore, Cermiti has never scored more than the four goals he currently scores at league level in his career, after failing to score a single goal in two years at Everton and scoring three goals in a league match at Sporting.

As can be seen from the table above, Pillow’s performances in Leeds’ Championship last season seem to suggest he is a much better No. 9 option for Rolle than Celmitty currently is.

At just 21 years old, the Portuguese Under-21 international has potential and could be a great player in the future, but he is not scoring every week at this stage of his career.

However, Piroue has shown that he has the quality to score a lot of goals in front of goal if given regular minutes, which is why he could arrive at Ibrox as a big upgrade for Celmitie.

Parag Malate’s links with Leeds If Gers are able to agree a deal with Leeds, and possibly sign him on loan for the remainder of the season, it would improve the quality of Rolle’s options in the number nine position.