Michael Beale is facing an important summer transfer window in charge of Glasgow Rangers as he aims to build a side which can compete in Europe and win trophies domestically.
The main area which needs strengthening is the attacking department, with Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent already on their way out, Beale needs another striker in order to take the load off of Antonio Colak.
The Ibrox side have been linked with a move for Ike Ugbo, according to The Scottish Sun, although they face competition from Burnley for the Troyes striker, and he could cost the club around £3.5m.
Beale could hold an advantage however, as he previously worked with Ugbo during his time as Chelsea youth coach alongside another striker, Tammy Abraham and the 42-year-old could potentially land a player of similar stature to the current AS Roma hitman.
Who is Ike Ugbo?
Ugbo was a former England U20 international before switching allegiances to Canada in 2021 and was even called up to represent them in the 2022 World Cup, showing just how highly thought of he is.
The 24-year-old has scored 48 goals during his professional career and enjoyed his best spell in Belgium for Cercle Brugge, where he netted 17 times during his only campaign.
Abraham also emerged out of the Chelsea youth setup having been coached by the current Rangers boss and has gone on to shine in both the Premier League and Serie A, going on to find the back of the net 26 and 25 times respectively in each competition, underlining his credentials as one of the finest English strikers around at the moment.
Ugbo has even stated previously that he looked up to Abraham during his time coming through the academy, saying: "He does well with his understanding of the game and his positioning.
"He gets so many goals from close range and it (learning from Abraham) helped me a lot with the goals I've scored. You get the goals simply when you are in the right positions.
"I was a midfielder before, so I learned from those movements. You have to get your positioning right and make sure you are on the right side of the ball. Tammy was always doing well with those things. When I was younger, I was watching his games and analysing it to see what I could add to my game to benefit me.”
Ugbo was described as a “threat” by Canadian journalist Ben Steiner last year and with Beale having a big void to fill due to Morelos’ departure, the 24-year-old could be an ideal signing for a fee which is more than affordable.
