Glasgow Rangers have possibly their biggest match of the season so far to come this weekend as they welcome their fierce rivals to Ibrox on Sunday.
The Light Blues are currently second in the Scottish Premiership and one point behind their upcoming opponents, who have played one game more than Philippe Clement's side, ahead of this match.
This means that a place at the top of the table is up for grabs for the winner, as they both fight it out to secure the title before the end of the season.
Clement's men still have the league and the SFA Cup to fight for, having already won the League Cup, before they can focus on the summer transfer window to improve their squad.
However, the Gers are already looking at possible moves to make ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, if reports are to be believed, including making one of their current loans a permanent deal.
Latest Rangers transfer news
According to Football Insider, Rangers are keen to secure a permanent swoop to sign Portuguese forward Fabio Silva from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Light Blues brought the Portugal U21 international in on loan from the Premier League side at the start of the January transfer window, and have seemingly seen enough from him to convince them to bring him back for the 2024/25 campaign and beyond.
Football Insider report that the Scottish giants are preparing to make contact 'soon' with Wolves over a deal to keep the versatile forward on a permanent basis.
The outlet adds that Rangers will not be able to afford a big-money move for the former record-signing for the Old Gold, who snapped him up from Porto for a staggering £35m.
He has only scored five goals and provided six assists in 72 first-team appearances for the English side since the young gem made that eye-catching move as a teenager in 2020.
The report claims that the Gers are hoping that Wolves' need to sell to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations will work in their favour in negotiations, as they want to agree a cut-price fee for his services.
Rangers could, should they agree a deal with the Old Gold to snap Silva up permanently during the upcoming summer transfer window, repeat the masterclass they played with Ryan Kent under Steven Gerrard.
Rangers' Ryan Kent masterclass
The English winger was signed on loan from Premier League side Liverpool in the summer of 2018 to bolster the club's attacking options on the flank.
He enjoyed a superb first season on the left wing with a return of six goals and nine assists in 43 appearances in all competitions for the club, including six goals and six assists in 27 matches in the Premiership.
That fantastic form earned him the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award at the end of the 2018/19 season, and the Gers then opted to sign him on a permanent deal for a reported fee of £7.5m in the summer of 2019.
His output did not immediately improve during the 2019/20 campaign, as the forward produced eight goals and four assists in all competitions for Gerrard, but his form the following season was well worth the wait for all involved.
Appearances
37
12
3
Goals
10
3
0
Assists
10
4
0
Yellow cards
0
1
2
Red cards
0
0
0
As you can see in the table above, Kent went on to rack up a staggering 13 goals and 14 assists domestically and in Europe combined throughout that term.
His phenomenal attacking contributions helped Rangers to win the Premiership title, going unbeaten in the process, and was named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year.
Before his free transfer to Fenerbahce last summer, Kent produced 33 goals and 56 assists in 218 appearances for the Scottish giants in all competitions throughout his career in Ibrox.
Therefore, the Light Blues played a masterclass with the English wizard as they signed him permanently after his impressive loan and enjoyed his talents, as a scorer and a creator of goals, over the course of many years.
Why Rangers should sign Fabio Silva
Rangers could now repeat that masterclass by signing another young Premier League loanee on a permanent deal after an initial loan in Glasgow – Silva.
The 21-year-old marksman, whose work rate was hailed as "infectious" by Connor Goldson, has produced four goals in 14 appearances for the club in all competitions this year, although only nine of those outings have been as a starter.
Along with those four goals, Silva also won a penalty against Motherwell and was denied an assist when his fantastic pass deflected slightly to find Dujon Sterling – who scored inside the box – against Benfica in Portugal.
The versatile whiz, who has earned his place in the starting XI on the left flank, has showcased his goalscoring potential, which was also on display with his two goals in two games for Portugal's U21s during the March international break.
Silva had showed signs of his attacking prowess at youth level for Porto prior to his big-money move to Wolves back in 2020, with a sublime return of five goals and four assists in nine Youth League appearances for the Portuguese giants.
The right-footed whiz, who only turns 22 this summer, is a young player with plenty of room to grow and improve over the years to come, which was also the case when Kent signed permanently.
Ibrox could be the perfect place for him to play regular, competitive, first-team football so that he can realise his potential and emerge as a consistent performer in the final third, which he has already shown signs of with four goals in nine starts for the Gers.
His lightning-quick feet and forward-thinking dynamic play make him an exciting player to watch, much like Kent was on the left flank during his time in Scotland, and Rangers must now do all they can to secure a permanent deal for his services.
If they can get a move over the line then they could be on their way to playing yet another transfer masterclass with a talented young winger from the Premier League.