Glasgow Transfer Rumours: 5 Players Rangers Should Consider Buying

Supporters of Glasgow Rangers Football Club have endured a difficult summer.

Despite the acquisitions of Scottish left-back Lee Wallace, Romanian centre-back Dorin Goian and Spanish midfielder Juan Manuel Ortiz, the Govan side crashed out of the Champions League in spectacular fashion to Scandinavian minnows Malmo on Wednesday night.

The 1-1 draw in Sweden, which sent Rangers out on aggregate, means the club miss out on the £15m jackpot that comes with progression to the group stages of Europe's elite competition.

The Glasgow giants now drop into Europe's secondary competition, the Europa League—but this is of scant consolation to their disappointed fans.

Much of the blame has been laid at the feet of rookie manager Ally McCoist, but new club owner Craig Whyte's inability to bid decent amounts of money for players like Roland Juhasz, Wesley Verhoek and the now Blackburn-bound David Goodwillie have already cost his side dear on the continent, as well as causing a lot of frustration among the fans.

However, Whyte has recently announced that despite the exit at the hands of Malmo, he will fund new signings—but what players should he really be after?

What areas are in serious need of strengthening?

Honourable Mentions

Roland Juhasz

Anderlecht's giant centre-back has publicly stated his enthusiasm about a potential move to Rangers, but his club have already knocked back two bids for the Hungarian.

Wesley Verhoek

Like Juhasz, Wesley Verhoek's club Den Haag have rejected several bids from the Gers despite the Dutch winger's "come-and-get-me" calls.

Carlos Cuellar

The former Rangers defender has been linked with a move back to his old club, and a £2 million bid has apparently been accepted by Aston Villa—but it seems that the Spaniard is waiting for something better to come along.

Alejandro Bedoya

Orebro's American winger has already signed a pre-contract with the Govan side and will join in January, but Ally McCoist is keen for Bedoya to join immediately for a small fee. The Swedish side are refusing to play ball, however.

Murray Davidson

The Scottish defender currently plays for SPL side St. Johnstone, but as with Juhasz and Verhoek, the bids from Craig Whyte simply haven't been good enough.

5. Mattias Bjärsmyr

The Swedish defender has long been linked with a move to Scotland.

As far back as 2008, there was talk of Bjärsmyr joining the Gers to play alongside the veteran David Weir—however, Madjid Bougherra was the one to come in.

But with Bougherra on the verge of a big money move to Qatari side Lekhwiya, a transfer for Bjärsmyr could be back on the cards.

With the Swede on the fringes of the Panathinaikos team, could he be the one to replace Boogie as the Rangers' big defender?

4. David Templeton

With only four games of the season played, it's clear that Rangers are lacking a creative spark.

Look no further than Hearts' flying winger David Templeton.

The Gers have already plundered the Edinburgh club for Lee Wallace earlier in the summer, and where better to find a player full of invention and trickery than the other side of the country?

Although his teammate Andrew Driver is arguably a more well-rounded player, he is rather more injury-prone—which makes the talented and in-form Templeton a great choice to bring some panache to the ailing side.

3. Katlego Mphela

One of the stars of South Africa's World Cup adventure last year, Katlego Mphela is a man on the move.

The lanky forward has been linked with a transfer to Europe since last summer, but nothing has yet materialised.

Mphela, who is still contracted to Mamelodi Sundowns in his homeland, did have a trial with Glasgow rivals Celtic over the summer, but this would not rule him out of a move across the city.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon seemed unimpressed with the South African striker, but could Rangers rekindle their interest?

2. Alexei Eremenko

With the Rangers' midfield far from settled, the addition of 28-year-old Alexei Eremenko could really bring an air of control to the middle of the park.

The attacking midfielder spent last season on loan at Scottish club Kilmarnock and impressed everyone with his commanding performances.

With Finnish manager Mixu Paatelainen seemingly bringing out the best of him, Alexei's performances were justifiably rewarded in May with a nomination for Player of the Season.

Since his return to Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv, Eremenko has been linked with both halves of the Old Firm, but as of yet, neither side has made a move.

Alexei is apparently keen to stay in Scotland, and as he showed last season, could really bring an added drive and vigour to the Rangers team.

1. Jamie Murphy

After missing out on David Goodwillie, manager Ally McCoist could erase the disappointment of missing out on the Dundee United marksman by buying another young Scottish striker with bags of potential.

Jamie Murphy.

At just 21, the young striker scored eleven goals for Motherwell last term and has already got off the mark this season.

With better service at a club like Rangers, the youngster could score goals for fun.

However, Motherwell are unlikely to let him go on the cheap and could hold out for at least £1.5 million—although with the Lanarkshire club's well-documented financial problems, they may bite Rangers' hand off if they receive any offer over £1 million for their most prized asset.

The only question remaining is why McCoist hasn't made a move yet.

Conclusion

McCoist needs signings, now.

After bowing out of the Champions League on Wednesday, the former Scotland international spoke of how his team really needed help.

And if all five of these players were bought, then Rangers could still have a successful season both domestically and abroad.

However, whether club owner Whyte will stump up the cash or not remains to be seen.