Glasgow Rangers ended their 2022/23 campaign with a 3-0 win over St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday and now all eyes turn to the summer transfer window.
The club have already confirmed that a number of current first-team stars will be departing on free transfers at the end of their contracts; including attacking aces Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent.
They are both leaving big boots to fill as they have been a staple of the Light Blues attack for many years and have contributed with so many goals and assists.
Kent ends his Gers career with 33 goals and 57 assists in 218 appearances for the club and Morelos departs on 124 goals and 58 assists in 269 outings in all competitions.
These statistics show that the pair have been sensational performers for Rangers over the course of a number of years as they have regularly delivered in the final third.
Michael Beale, however, could unearth Morelos and Kent 2.0 by bringing Zak Lovelace up from the academy and pairing him with a potential new signing in Petar Ratkov, who is a reported target for the club.
Who is Petar Ratkov?
He is a 19-year-old centre-forward who currently plays for FK TSC Backa Topola in the top flight of Serbian football and has shown incredible promise in his short career to date.
The teenage marksman has scored 14 goals and assisted nine in 39 appearances in all competitions for his club this term and has been capped six times by Serbia at U21 level.
Ratkov, who scored six goals in seven outings for Topola's U19 side, has hit form in recent weeks with four goals in five matches in the Super Liga Championship Round, which shows that the gem is able to step up and perform in high-pressure situations with his team chasing the title.
His impressive goalscoring form in the first-team for Topola at such a young age indicates that the potential is there for him to grow into being a reliable scorer for Rangers in the future, which could make him a long-term replacement for Morelos at Ibrox.
Lovelace, on the other hand, could replace Kent on the wing. The 17-year-old, who joined from Millwall last year, has racked up 18 goals and ten assists in 35 academy appearances for the Light Blues and has the versatility to play on either flank or through the middle as a striker, just like Kent – who also provided goals and assists from those positions.
He has also done enough to impress Beale as the youngster made two first-team outings for Rangers during the 2022/23 campaign, which suggests that the manager views him as a player with the quality to make the step up.
Therefore, the club could unearth their new Morelos and Kent pairing by unleashing Lovelace in the first team alongside a deal to sign Ratkov to bolster their number nine options this summer.