Rangers manager Derek McInnes has confirmed the club is actively working to bring in a new striker after young forward Youssef Chermiti suffered a serious knee injury that is expected to keep him out for a lengthy spell.
The 22-year-old Portugal Under-21 international picked up an anterior cruciate ligament injury during Saturday's defeat to Hibernian. The setback came just after McInnes revealed that Rangers had turned down an offer for the striker, with Turkish giants Galatasaray reportedly among the clubs interested in the former Everton man. Chermiti is set to see a specialist in London, and surgery could follow as early as next week.
The injury news has left McInnes with a difficult balancing act, especially with Rangers preparing for a crucial Europa League third qualifying round second leg against Jagiellonia Bialystok on Thursday, where they must overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg.
Speaking about Chermiti's situation, McInnes did not hide his disappointment. "Obviously, really disappointing for ourselves," he said. "Selfishly, he's a big part of what we wanted to do this season and he's obviously a talented boy. For Youssef himself, obviously he's very young. It'll be difficult for him to accept and understand what's happened to him."
The manager did point to one silver lining amid the setback. "The only saving grace from our point of view as a club is the fact it's happened in a transfer window and we've got the opportunity to react to that," McInnes explained, referencing the rejected bid for Chermiti. "Obviously it was a big number that was reportedly bid for him. I don't know exactly what the figure was. Obviously the club rejected that. It's neither here nor there now, to be honest. It's done."
With that in mind, Rangers are now exploring the market for a replacement forward. "We are obviously looking at maybe strengthening that area of the pitch. We're trying to be quite proactive with that and seeing what is available," McInnes said, though he acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead: "Number nines are normally the most difficult ones to get."
Chermiti's injury is not the club's only defensive headache. Left-back Tuur Rommens is also sidelined, expected to miss up to eight weeks with a groin issue sustained in the same match against Hibernian. McInnes admitted the lack of options at left-back has become a pressing concern.
"We don't have a left-footed defender in the building. We're keen to try and get that resolved as quickly as possible," he said. "With the numbers we've got there, we are kind of playing with fire. Defensively, it's always been a bit of a concern. I always thought we were short of numbers there. We all know what we need but acting really swiftly would help matters."
Rangers are also looking to bolster their wide areas, according to McInnes, who confirmed talks are ongoing but nothing is close to being finalized. Brentford's Jayden Meghoma, who spent last season on loan at Ibrox, has been mentioned as a possible left-back option, while PSV Eindhoven winger Couhaib Driouech continues to be linked with a permanent switch to Rangers. "We've been linked with a lot of players. That one's gained a bit of momentum and we are quite far down the line with that but I don't know where it's at currently," McInnes said of Driouech.
In other transfer news, midfielder Mohamed Diomande has departed Rangers to join Turkish side Corum for an undisclosed fee. The Ivory Coast international made 122 appearances and scored 10 goals since arriving from Nordsjaelland in January 2024.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.