Glasgow Rangers are preparing to launch a move to bring FC Utrecht striker Anastasios Douvikas to the Scottish Premiership, according to reports.
Who is Anastasios Douvikas?
Douvikas is a Greece international who joined the Eredivisie side from Volos NFC back in July 2021 going on to make a total of 72 appearances to date.
The Athens native still has another two years remaining on his contract at the Stadion Galgenwaard, and in becoming Michael Silberbauer’s top-performing offensive player this season as per WhoScored, he’s caught the eye of a couple of Premiership managers.
The Scottish Sun reported earlier this month that Celtic had identified the 23-year-old as an ideal transfer target for the upcoming window, but if the following update is anything to go by, it sounds like Michael Beale is ready to hijack the deal and beat his rivals to his signature.
Are Rangers signing Douvikas?
According to TEAMtalk, Rangers are “eyeing up” Douvikas and are becoming a “genuine threat” to Celtic in their hopes of bringing him to Parkhead. The Light Blues could “scupper” the Hoops’ plan to sign the centre-forward and “launch their own move” in the weeks and months ahead. The Ibrox outfit are “hot” on their target’s tail and would “love to land a blow” on Ange Postecoglou’s men by convincing him to choose blue over green.
Rangers will, of course, do anything when it comes to beating Celtic to a new signing, but aside from that, Douvikas is a seriously prolific player and one who could transform Beale’s side in the final third – so it should be a no-brainer of a decision for the board to consider making an official approach for him.
The 6 foot 1 attacker, who pockets £7.5 per week, has posted a remarkable 22 goal contributions (18 goals and four assists) in 31 Eredivisie appearances this season and recorded the highest number of shots within the Utrecht squad, via FBref.
In fact, the Utrecht talisman has taken just 59 attempts to net his 18 goals, which equals a conversion rate of 31%, and is significantly higher than that of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, whose rate currently stands at 22.6%, as stated by TEAMtalk, so there’s almost no doubt that Douvikas could be the missing piece of the puzzle for the Gers.
