Rangers Sign Brandon Barker to 3 Year Deal

Rangers have made another addition to their attack by signing winger Brandon Barker.

With Rangers still feeling they needed a boost to their attack, they’ve made a move for Manchester City youth Brandon Barker.

To be fair, calling him a Machester City player is a stretch as he only ever made a single competitive appearance with the club, spending his time instead on loans, but still.

Barker has spent time on loan with Dutch side NAC Breda, Rotherham United, and most recently Preston North End of the English Championship.

Rangers fans are likely to remember Barker from two seasons ago when he was on loan with Scottish Club Hibernian for the season as a 20-year-old.

He struggled last season playing for Dutch side Breda but remains full of potential and when he spent that season in the Scottish Premiership with Hibernian he was mostly a solid member of the team.

Barker isn’t likely to bust right into the starting squad, Jordan jones will be his main competition as a right-winger and Jones had been impressive early in the season, but he is on a 3 year contract and while his fee has not officially been disclosed it is reported to mostly be nominal.

Barker’s pace is excellent, and he has some ability to take opposing players one on one which will make Rangers more potent in both the half-field and in counter-attack situations. His main issue is that he often struggled to finish both for goals and for passes to others to make full use of his speed. Many have referred to him as “a pace merchant.”

All that said, if the fee is as low as it supposedly was, this seems a smart move for Rangers even if it doesn’t move the needle a great deal. At worst he is what he was with Hibs, a guy who can at the very least give some depth who can perform domestically when injuries or suspensions take out the starters. At best he could still realize his massive potential and become an excellent player who could be sold-on at a huge profit.