Glasgow Rangers have undergone a major summer rebuild as Michael Beale has cleared out some high earners such as Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos, who departed the club following the expiration of their contracts while luring some wonderful talents such as Jack Butland and Kieran Dowell to the Ibrox side.

The 2023/24 campaign promises to be an exciting one, with Rangers showing glimpses of their capabilities towards the end of last term, including an impressive 3-0 victory over Celtic, albeit they had already secured the Premiership title.

With plenty of time left to go before the transfer window shuts, Beale will surely be looking at bringing another couple of players to the Light Blues, along with shipping some deadwood out in order to generate funds for future purchases.

Although the Gers have mainly signed midfielders and forwards so far this summer, there is a clear need for some more defensive recruitments.

With this in mind, the Ibrox side were linked with a move for Southampton youngster Thierry Small according to Football Insider at the end of May, with a fee of just £1.2m being touted as enough to prise the 18-year-old away from England.

Could Rangers sign Thierry Small?

Rangers already have two excellent left-backs in the shape of Ridvan Yilmaz and Borna Barisic and while the former only arrived last summer and still has time on his side to learn and adapt to Scottish football, Barisic has just one year left on his contract and although talks have begun with the club over a new deal, he won’t be around forever.

There was nothing wrong with his attacking ability last term, averaging 2.3 key passes per game and creating 12 big chances, yet defensively, he ranked fifth out of the squad for tackles per game and seventh for clearances per game (1.1) and he lost possession a staggering 18.8 times per game, suggesting that he may be going backwards defensively.

Small became the youngest-ever player to appear for Everton during an FA Cup tie in 2021 aged just 16 years and 176 days, and he was even hailed as “quality” by Carlo Ancelotti. He failed to build on that promise despite joining Southampton that summer on a three-year professional deal, being dubbed “highly-rated” by journalist Simon Peach.

The teen starlet secured a loan move to St Mirren during the second half of last season and despite starting only seven matches for the club, he still averaged one key pass per game while completing 0.6 dribbles per game, showing that he showed glimpses of his attacking potential.

Defensively, he made 1.3 tackles and one clearance per game, which wasn’t far off Barisic’s figures of 1.8 tackles and 1.1 clearances made per game respectively, showing that he is already near the numbers of Barisic defensively, despite playing fewer matches and being a lot less experienced.

For just £1.2m, it would surely be a risk worth taking on the youngster, especially following the success Calvin Bassey enjoyed during his spell at Rangers after arriving from England three years ago.

With the Croatian left-back only having a few years left at the top, Small could be an ideal heir for the 30-year-old.