Rangers vs USG preview: Get the job done

Morning all, lots to talk about in a short time so will try to keep it concise today.

Before we get onto the game there's been moves in terms of tying our players down. There was a report at the start of the week that Ianis Hagi, Findlay Curtis and Zack Lovelace had been offered new deals. This was followed up by the announcement from the club that Curtis had agreed a new deal. Although I've since heard rumours that Hagi has not been offered a deal, so watch that space.

The other bit of positive news is that John Souttar is back in training. The club released pictures the other day and it was refreshing to see someone come back rather than get injured. Given the burgeoning partnership of Nsiala and Propper, I see no need to rush him back into action. Although given that he is our best defender, I imagine one of the current centre backs will make way for him in the coming weeks.

On the transfer front it's more about outgoings than incomings. Jefte has been linked with a move to Chelsea (or more likely Strasbourg-via-Chelsea, given the links there) after his form this season. It's a signing that falls right under Chelsea's recent remit. Young, promising talent with experience in a foreign league. It's clear that if they make an offer we can't expect the crazy money they've paid for some young players. But I don't think it's outrageous to ask for 10-12 million for the Brazilian, given his importance to us and the length of his deal.

Chelsea would likely view that as a shrewd investment, sign him and then give him to Strasbourg by effectively paying themselves. Let him get experience in a top 5 league in Europe. Then sell him for 25/30m in a few years time or he gets into the Chelsea team at that point. The magic of football and ownership groups!

We've also seen more links emerging for Hamza Igamane to Everton. Apparently they want to get the deal done before the end of the window. I think Rangers would be silly to sell him at this stage unless the offer was a record fee for Scotland. There's no way we could spend the money and get a suitable replacement in one day. So unless it's in the 30 million bracket, we should be saying no. Summer will be a different story but lets cross that bridge when we come to it.

Onto tonight's game, it's a challenging home game against Union St Gilloise. We triumphed by 3 goals to nil in our last encounter with the Belgian side. But they've continued their steady improvement since then and it will be a much tougher test tonight. They sit two places below Rangers in 15th. So tonight will be seen as a chance to get up the table and get a better seed for the next round.

For me, this is a very important game for Rangers. We need to win and secure that potential 9th-11th finish that puts us in a great position for the play offs. I certainly think we are capable of a victory, our record at home in Europe is strong. The issue with tonight is personnel.

We're fairly reliant on the movement of Vaclav Cerny in Europe to open the space for the rest of the forwards. I think it's a tricky choice for Clement tonight. Going with Dessers and Igamane up top is bold and could leave us vulnerable in midfield. Starting with Bajrami as the 10 and McCausland out wide probably leaves us short in terms of threat to the opposition box. Obviously ideally we'd have more players to choose from and it wouldn't be an issue.

Aside from Lyon at home, Clement has been very good with the tactical approach and selection in Europe. We had about 4 players left at the end against Man United and we still almost came away with a point.

I had an amusing moment yesterday relating to today's game. I was sitting in my car having come home from 7 a side, near my flat in Edinburgh. As I was about to get out the car a couple appeared in front of me with suitcases going towards a flat. Nothing unusual about that until I spotted that the man had a USG shirt on. I presume they are staying in Edinburgh tonight to make a day of it tomorrow before going to Glasgow for the game. Good luck to them, hope their trip ends in tears.

Aside from that, have a good day everyone and enjoy the game.