Improving the Squad (Player Suggestions)

Necro

Necro

Well-Known Member
I've seen lots of debate on here recently trying to conclude whether we are going to need another total rebuild in the summer; like many others, I believe we only need a few additions of serious quality.

I've listed some players that I've been an admirer of for some time who I think would turn us into serious title contenders, I've tried to include the obligatory YouTube video to accompany each suggestion but in some cases I couldn't find any.

These are players who in my view go straight into the first team and bolster our weaker areas but I've also included some players that would be players for the future. The defenders are the best example of this as I believe that Goldson and Katic are more than good enough as a pair but we are going to have to replace Worrall and McAuley.

I'd be very interested to read opinions on these guys, arguments in favour of the total rebuild or look at other suggestions.


Striker.

Michael Frey:

This guy should be our top target this summer regardless of Morelos leaving/staying, his workrate is unmatched from any other player I've seen in the game today. He joined Fenerbache in the summer and he hasn't quite found his form from Zurich. He doesn't have the most prolific record but he'd replace Morelos within our system perfectly and should Morelos stay, they'd compliment eachother immensely imo

Myron Boadu:

Being one of the most promising young players in the Eredivisie, he'd be out of our reach when it comes to signing permanently. He had bad luck with a summer injury and as a result hasn't played much this season, at 18 he needs to be playing so I believe a loan deal would be more than possible, maybe even for 2 seasons. He reminds me of a prime Defoe.

Midfield.

Lovro Majer:
(The #10 we've been crying out for)

This one would have to be another loan signing, he's viewed as one of the key players for the future in Croatia. He got his big move to Zagreb after rejecting numerous clubs across Europe and sadly got injured at the start of the season. We'd be a very attractive option for both him and Zagreb given we not only offer Europa League football but also have a few of his countrymen in our squad to help him settle easier. I believe he'd be one of the best players in the league once he hit the ground running, he has everything.

Junior Sambia: Obligatory video not found. (you can see multiple individual highlights if you search his name)

This is another player I believe should be a top target, he would cost £4-6m but we'd double our money within a year.
He can play anywhere across the midfield line to a higher standard than anyone currently in our squad and is also more than adequate cover at fullback. He's skilful, strong, pacey and direct, he has the energy and drive we've been missing in abundance.

Barrie McKay:

I considered leaving him out as this as it will possibly stop people taking this seriously. We all know him well and will have differing opinions but I don't think he should have been let go, given that we could probably secure his return for less than £1m I think it's a no brainer.

I believe he is the most technically gifted player we've seen at Ibrox since Barry Ferguson, people seem to forget how many chances he created for a toothless attack that just couldn't bury them.

Defenders.

Rick Van Drogelen:

This is probably the most unrealistic option I've listed, I doubt we could tempt him away from the Bundesliga(should HSV come up) unless we seriously broke the bank.

As a left footed central defender, he'd give us a very balanced back 3 should we keep exploring that shape. There's not much else to say other than he's already a very solid defender and 20 he's only going to get better.

Players for the Future/Backup Options. Lots of people will turn their noses up at these players but these are the type of signings that have Celtic so far ahead of us currently, It's time to stop giving them a monopoly on local talent and invest in our future.

Greg Taylor - I believe he could possibly challenge Barisic for the left back spot immediately, at his age I really believe we should be snapping him up now before he gets a move to England and becomes out of our reach.

Liam Lindsay - Another left sided centre back, he looked very solid at Partick Thistle before leaving for England. The level he plays at might deter people but he's still young enough to develop and given that he's shown he's a good player in the SPFL I think it's an inexpensive option that we'd be silly to ignore.

Lewis Ferguson - Aberdeen will be difficult to deal with here but he's another one that will inevitably get a move to England and we'd regret not moving for him, there's been endless arguments over him being good enough but he's a player that has already shown great drive, energy and eagerness in big games, he'd thrive playing at Ibrox. Him and Greg Docherty could be our future.

Lawrence Shankland - Another player that has caused heated debate, a late bloomer that has a terrifying goal scoring record this season. He'd be a very inexpensive investment and we'd be guaranteed to profit should it not work out.
 
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We mustn’t bring in back-up options!

We should be aiming to bring in new “first picks” with the current first picks then becoming our squad players or back-up options.

Edit:
Can’t comment on the rest of the OPs options as I’ve never heard of any of them. And we all know how misleading you tube clips can be.
 
RFC_Champions said:
We mustn’t bring in back-up options!

We should be aiming to bring in new “first picks” with the current first picks then becoming our squad players or back-up options.
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We’re not in a position where we can go out and buy a new player for every position, we need to develop our own.

We need to bring in promising young players that can do a job now when needed but are primarily there for later, McCrorie and Middleton are the key examples.

I’d rather have Greg Taylor and Lewis Ferguson in our squad over Jon Flanagan and Steven Davis.
 
Liam Lyndsey was a big missed opportunity him and David Bates would have been a fantastic pairing going forward. However we have no chance now he will move to bigger things in England.

List is a bit fantasy football, be good to get any of them, Barry Mackay would be mad to come back we have too many fans that would simply be on his back from day one. Personally would love to see him back.
 
Nick Powell a good number 10 who we can get for free this summer would be a start a dominant left footed CB like Jake Cooper Barry Douglas has fallen out of favour at Leeds he is a good left back and a striker like the ones you have mentioned get Kent back for at least the season and another winger of his ilk and we will be pretty much there
 
KGR98 said:
Nick Powell a good number 10 who we can get for free this summer would be a start a dominant left footed CB like Jake Cooper Barry Douglas has fallen out of favour at Leeds he is a good left back and a striker like the ones you have mentioned get Kent back for at least the season and another winger of his ilk and we will be pretty much there
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Douglas hasn't fallen out of favour, he has been injured.
 
Smail Prevljak of Red Bull Salzburg where he's in and out of the team as they have a top drawer striker in Dabbur that's hard to shift,but has a ratio of a goal every 80 mins. this season.He spent last season on loan at Mattersburg where he was also banging the goals in too.

That said,he'd cost serious cash-I reckon if we got 15 million for Alfie we'd probably need half of that for this guy which would be a massive gamble for us.But he's 23 years old and a Bosnian international and his value is only going to rise imo.And there's simply no way it can happen without Morelos getting us a lot of money in the first place.
 
TerrySilverLoyal said:
Lewis Ferguson just signed a new deal
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Doesn't mean he's not for sale just that Dolly would ask for a higher transfer fee.

I'm not saying we should/shouldn't sign him BTW.

Midfield is an area that needs to be addressed as we seriously lack any creativity and Gerrard said as much on Saturday that his players were waiting on Kent producing a moment of magic.
 
Necro said:
We’re not in a position where we can go out and buy a new player for every position, we need to develop our own.

We need to bring in promising young players that can do a job now when needed but are primarily there for later, McCrorie and Middleton are the key examples.

I’d rather have Greg Taylor and Lewis Ferguson in our squad over Jon Flanagan and Steven Davis.
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I’m not saying buy a new player for every position.

McGregor, Tav, Goldson, Katic, Arfield, Morelos are probably good enough already. Compliment these guys with proper quality rather than more players squad level players.

If we manage to bring in a creative right winger - then the likes of Candeias becomes a “squad player” and so on. I’m just using him as an example btw. If we get a better attacking midfielder who scores goals - then Arfield becomes a squad player.

No point ditching a Halliday to bring in another Jason Holt kind of thing. That’s not going to make our team any better.
 
I've been saying for a while now that we should go for Patrick Twumasi. He's a 24 year old forward (mainly used as a right winger), currently with Deportivo Alaves. He has 3 caps for Ghana. He's lightening fast, strong, skilful and is a brilliant finisher.

I first became aware of him when he absolutely ripped Celtic to shreds in a Champions League qualifier while playing for Astana. He ended up scoring 10 goals in Europe that season, including the two against Celtic, three against Maccabi Tel Aviv and one against each of Villarreal, Sporting and Legia Warsaw.

He cost Deportivo £3m in the summer, but has rarely featured, making only a handful of appearances from the bench. As such, it seems likely that Deportivo would be happy to either recoup most of their outlay, or send him on loan for a season to get games. If we could sign him for around £2-3m, it would be a fantastic bit of business and I'm certain he would end up making us a healthy profit after a season or two.

Goals against them at 1:09 and 1:41 and a near miss at 2:02 (that would have made it 5-1 to Astana on the night at that point)

 
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cav said:
Smail Prevljak of Red Bull Salzburg where he's in and out of the team as they have a top drawer striker in Dabbur that's hard to shift,but has a ratio of a goal every 80 mins. this season.He spent last season on loan at Mattersburg where he was also banging the goals in too.

That said,he'd cost serious cash-I reckon if we got 15 million for Alfie we'd probably need half of that for this guy which would be a massive gamble for us.But he's 23 years old and a Bosnian international and his value is only going to rise imo.And there's simply no way it can happen without Morelos getting us a lot of money in the first place.
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£15M for Morelos? His Red cards are knocking loads off his value to other teams.
 
Love a player suggestion thread.

Unless one of our scouting team use FF for advice then it's a total waste of time.
 
Kristoffer Peterson and Lewis Holtby have both been rumoured before and are out of contract in the Summer. Peterson has 11 in 22 from left wing for Heracles, Holtby signed a year extension to play second tier with Hamburg.
 
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Growler said:
Morelos should not leave for less than £20m. Gerrard knows this and has said as much. Hoping for quite a bit more, actually.

Some good suggestions on this thread. Alfie’s replacement has to be a special signing.
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I said 15 million as a guide but I certainly wouldn't accept any less than that,and even at that price I'd be wanting a hefty % sell on clause tied in to any deal.He's so pivotal to our play now that we'd have to completely change how we play when he goes.
If we accepted any less than 25 million for Morelos and Tav combined it would be madness imo for what they offer to the team offensively,and would leave huge gaps to fill.
 
Growler said:
Kristoffer Peterson and Lewis Holtby have both been rumoured before and are out of contract in the Summer. Peterson has 11 in 22 from left wing for Heracles, Holtby signed a year extension to play second tier with Hamburg.
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I've mentioned Holtby a few times,but he keeps signing extensions there.Having been to see the HSV a few times,they are quite similar to us in that they're wonderfully supported and very much a sleeping giant of a club-must be hard for a player to leave that environment when he clearly has an affection for the club.

Bloody good player though.

Edit- Peterson's a great shout.
 
I remember hoping that we would go for Lyndsey, just broke in to Scotland team, contract coming to an end at Thistle,could have got him for 300k, but sadly now will be over a million.
The lad Myron at Az would be a good shout but again i think the bigger Dutch clubs could out bid us if he was available.
 
Completely scunnered by all this shit

We thought the current players may have been good enough and look how it appears to be heading.

Bringing back Barrie McKay is a complete non starter for me. Heart of a mouse and total shitebag.

Started not too bad with Forrest then went full Barrie McKay

Started not too bad with swansea then went full Barrie McKay

I’m sorry but in my opinion the boy doesn’t have what it takes to be in a title winning team
 
It will be an exciting summer thats for sure, if we do sell Morelos and Tav i think we can expect some real quality coming in, it will be very difficult to replace Morelos though.

I have a few players in mind but without knowing our budget i think they would be too expensive.

I would like fast, powerful African players though, one on the wing and one as a centre half.
 
I don't think we'll get as much as we think we will for AM. Our hands are tied and we have to sell him this coming window. Otherwise we are going to be in a position where we have a player who'll down tools and will be unhappy that promises haven't been kept. We know this. So do other teams.

Worst thing that can happen with his sale is if we hold off wanting a bigger offer, the player starts to complain then we are forced to sell him for less than we hoped and delayed us getting the cash in to make replacement signings/ reinforcements.

I think he'll go early in the window for £13-15m
 

I know nothing other than he has 29 goals in 15 games.


On loan at same club from parent club Villarreal. 15 apps 14 goals 13 assists.
 
Necro said:
I've seen lots of debate on here recently trying to conclude whether we are going to need another total rebuild in the summer; like many others, I believe we only need a few additions of serious quality.

I've listed some players that I've been an admirer of for some time who I think would turn us into serious title contenders, I've tried to include the obligatory YouTube video to accompany each suggestion but in some cases I couldn't find any.

These are players who in my view go straight into the first team and bolster our weaker areas but I've also included some players that would be players for the future. The defenders are the best example of this as I believe that Goldson and Katic are more than good enough as a pair but we are going to have to replace Worrall and McAuley.

I'd be very interested to read opinions on these guys, arguments in favour of the total rebuild or look at other suggestions.


Striker.

Michael Frey:

This guy should be our top target this summer regardless of Morelos leaving/staying, his workrate is unmatched from any other player I've seen in the game today. He joined Fenerbache in the summer and he hasn't quite found his form from Zurich. He doesn't have the most prolific record but he'd replace Morelos within our system perfectly and should Morelos stay, they'd compliment eachother immensely imo

Myron Boadu:

Being one of the most promising young players in the Eredivisie, he'd be out of our reach when it comes to signing permanently. He had bad luck with a summer injury and as a result hasn't played much this season, at 18 he needs to be playing so I believe a loan deal would be more than possible, maybe even for 2 seasons. He reminds me of a prime Defoe.

Midfield.

Lovro Majer:
(The #10 we've been crying out for)

This one would have to be another loan signing, he's viewed as one of the key players for the future in Croatia. He got his big move to Zagreb after rejecting numerous clubs across Europe and sadly got injured at the start of the season. We'd be a very attractive option for both him and Zagreb given we not only offer Europa League football but also have a few of his countrymen in our squad to help him settle easier. I believe he'd be one of the best players in the league once he hit the ground running, he has everything.

Junior Sambia: Obligatory video not found. (you can see multiple individual highlights if you search his name)

This is another player I believe should be a top target, he would cost £4-6m but we'd double our money within a year.
He can play anywhere across the midfield line to a higher standard than anyone currently in our squad and is also more than adequate cover at fullback. He's skilful, strong, pacey and direct, he has the energy and drive we've been missing in abundance.

Barrie McKay:

I considered leaving him out as this as it will possibly stop people taking this seriously. We all know him well and will have differing opinions but I don't think he should have been let go, given that we could probably secure his return for less than £1m I think it's a no brainer.

I believe he is the most technically gifted player we've seen at Ibrox since Barry Ferguson, people seem to forget how many chances he created for a toothless attack that just couldn't bury them.

Defenders.

Rick Van Drogelen:

This is probably the most unrealistic option I've listed, I doubt we could tempt him away from the Bundesliga(should HSV come up) unless we seriously broke the bank.

As a left footed central defender, he'd give us a very balanced back 3 should we keep exploring that shape. There's not much else to say other than he's already a very solid defender and 20 he's only going to get better.

Players for the Future/Backup Options. Lots of people will turn their noses up at these players but these are the type of signings that have Celtic so far ahead of us currently, It's time to stop giving them a monopoly on local talent and invest in our future.

Greg Taylor - I believe he could possibly challenge Barisic for the left back spot immediately, at his age I really believe we should be snapping him up now before he gets a move to England and becomes out of our reach.

Liam Lindsay - Another left sided centre back, he looked very solid at Partick Thistle before leaving for England. The level he plays at might deter people but he's still young enough to develop and given that he's shown he's a good player in the SPFL I think it's an inexpensive option that we'd be silly to ignore.

Lewis Ferguson - Aberdeen will inevitably be difficult to deal with here but he's another one that will inevitably get a move to England and we'd regret not moving for him, there's been endless arguments over him being good enough but he's a player that has already shown great drive, energy and eagerness in big games, he'd thrive playing at Ibrox. Him and Greg Docherty could be our future.

Lawrence Shankland - Another player that has caused heated debate, a late bloomer that has a terrifying goal scoring record this season. He'd be a very inexpensive investment and we'd be guaranteed to profit should it not work out.
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Great post Necro. I haven’t seen most of these but will have a look & respond to you.

There are three others I’ve seen that could be further options so your thought on them would be appreciated, and none of them should cost more than 1.5m to 2.0m euros -

Luka Ivanusec - Loko Zagreb Attacking Midfielder 20yo.
Eetu Tervainen - HJK Striker / Second Striker 19yo.
Elvira Koljic - Craovia Striker 23yo

Ivanusec & Koljir have already played for Croatia & Bosnia respectively.
 
Grigo Yossarian said:
Great post Necro. I haven’t seen most of these but will have a look & respond to you.

There are three others I’ve seen that could be further options so your thought on them would be appreciated, and none of them should cost more than 1.5m to 2.0m euros -

Luka Ivanusec - Loko Zagreb Attacking Midfielder 20yo.
Eetu Tervainen - HJK Striker / Second Striker 19yo.
Elvira Koljic - Craovia Striker 23yo

Ivanusec & Koljir have already played for Croatia & Bosnia respectively.
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How is the striker doing that we had ben linked with that ended up in Hungary ?

I could have got that wrong but i can't remember his name, i remember we all loved his Youtube video and some of the goals he scored.
 
Say by some miracle we have Morelos still here and £10m to spend, 3-4 signings max with that £10m should get the quality we need to win the league. A few loanees as backup
 
Recoba said:
How is the striker doing that we had ben linked with that ended up in Hungary ?

I could have got that wrong but i can't remember his name, i remember we all loved his Youtube video and some of the goals he scored.
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10 goals in 12 Recoba the last I looked. It’s actually Romania. Craovia. Very good in the air & has made his Bosnia debut since we spoke.
Edit - 11 in 14 now mate.
 
Kylegib said:
Steven Naismith is the player we're needing. He can link midfield and attack, he scores goals and creates goals he also has exceptional work rate.
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I agree, he's as close to Alfredo as we can get in terms of workrate,running the channels. Just imagine him with Alfredo,that could've got us the points we've lost. Still think he has much to offer, despite his age
 
Growler said:
Kristoffer Peterson and Lewis Holtby have both been rumoured before and are out of contract in the Summer. Peterson has 11 in 22 from left wing for Heracles, Holtby signed a year extension to play second tier with Hamburg.
Click to expand...

Is Peterson Scandinavian Growler ?
 
Recoba said:
It will be an exciting summer thats for sure, if we do sell Morelos and Tav i think we can expect some real quality coming in, it will be very difficult to replace Morelos though.

I have a few players in mind but without knowing our budget i think they would be too expensive.

I would like fast, powerful African players though, one on the wing and one as a centre half.
Click to expand...

Any specific Africans you’re thinking of mate ? A bit of pace & Power could be very helpful in this league.
 
Greg Stewart should have been signed in January.

He can change games like Saturday and is a much better option that Candieas against teams that sit deep against us.

He was a standout for a Killie and doing really well for Aberdeen.
 
Grigo Yossarian said:
10 goals in 12 Recoba the last I looked. It’s actually Romania. Craovia. Very good in the air & has made his Bosnia debut since we spoke.
Edit - 11 in 14 now mate.
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Thanks for the update, seems to be doing well and i know who you are talking about, i think i was thinking about the smaller guy that scored those fantastic goals ? we had been linked with both around the same time.
 
Grigo Yossarian said:
Any specific Africans you’re thinking of mate ? A bit of pace & Power could be very helpful in this league.
Click to expand...
The ones i want are all out of our price range im afraid, all the leagues i watch are generally always going to be even for the lower teams.

The guy from Astana is a good shout though, pacey and can score.
 
Recoba said:
Thanks for the update, seems to be doing well and i know who you are talking about, i think i was thinking about the smaller guy that scored those fantastic goals ? we had been linked with both around the same time.
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Hodzic the Bosnian by any chance,former Liverpool youngster when there?
I like him but by all accounts his attitude was questioned at Zagreb and that's why he was punted(according to a Croatian guy I spoke to anyway last year).
5 goals and 3 assists in a shite league,he's not exactly setting the heather on fire there tbh,and cost them 2.4 million apparently(in 27 games I meant to say)
 
Growler said:
Swede. 1 cap..
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There's an argument to be made that scandanavians tend to adapt better to Scotland I reckon.

Mexicans not so much obviously.Although it would help if one had actually started many games and the other wasn't suffering with alcohol addiction I suppose.:mad:
 
Recoba said:
The ones i want are all out of our price range im afraid, all the leagues i watch are generally always going to be even for the lower teams.

The guy from Astana is a good shout though, pacey and can score.
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Thanks mate. I have a distant memory of that game they beat the tims. I enjoy checking these possible guys out. Even if it’s only us :cool:
 
cav said:
Hodzic the Bosnian by any chance,former Liverpool youngster when there?
I like him but by all accounts his attitude was questioned at Zagreb and that's why he was punted(according to a Croatian guy I spoke to anyway last year).
5 goals and 3 assists in a shite league,he's not exactly setting the heather on fire there tbh,and cost them 2.4 million apparently(in 27 games I meant to say)
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That was the one Cav thanks for updating me and i agree not the best stats so far.
 
cav said:
There's an argument to be made that scandanavians tend to adapt better to Scotland I reckon.

Mexicans not so much obviously.Although it would help if one had actually started many games and the other wasn't suffering with alcohol addiction I suppose.:mad:
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I can honestly count maybe 5 or 6 Mexicans that have played in Britain full stop.
 
We should check out that Messi fellow at FC Barcelona. He looks good at football and seems a very decent chap to boot.
 
Recoba said:
I was hoping we would get him in January, maybe we will launch a summer bid.

Ali was the name i'm sure.
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Yeah I liked the look of they other 2 from that continent that someone’s stuck up on this thread, should be a relitavely cheap outlay but it’s a case if they can do it over here but you see more and more players from they kind of countries popping up at teams now
 
cav said:
There's an argument to be made that scandanavians tend to adapt better to Scotland I reckon.

Mexicans not so much obviously.Although it would help if one had actually started many games and the other wasn't suffering with alcohol addiction I suppose.:mad:
Click to expand...

Good point.
 
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