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Glasgow Rangers enjoyed a campaign that will go down as one of the most exciting in the Ibrox sides history last time out.

A Scottish Cup triumph for the first time in 13 years plus a wonderful Europa League run, where a defeat in the final to Eintracht Frankfurt broke every supporter’s heart.

There was some more positive news to come following the end of a gruelling 65-match campaign, and that was to sign Ibrox stalwart and veteran Steven Davis to a new one-year contract.

This means it is increasingly likely that Davis will retire at Ibrox and what a player he has been for the club, making 349 appearances in two separate spells while scoring 26 goals and registering a wonderful 70 assists during his time in Glasgow.

Many wonder who can possibly replace him, but Giovanni van Bronckhorst might well have his Davis heir right under his nose in youngster Charlie McCann.

Like the 37-year-old, McCann represents Northern Ireland at international level and also plays in the heart of the midfield, so he has a perfect role model at the club to learn from.

The 20-year-old moved from Manchester United to join the Rangers B team last summer and it looks like a shrewd move.

The Dutchman gave McCann his debut in a Scottish Cup clash against Annan Athletic in February and he went on to make a further three appearances before the end of the season as he got a taste of first-team football.

This experience has obviously given him plenty of confidence as he started this season with a bang for the B team, scoring four goals and grabbing an assist in just six matches, while also coming on for the first team in the League Cup victory against Queen of the South, setting up Scott Arfield to score the final goal with a clever flick.

Journalist Josh Bunting praised McCann in pre-season, dubbing him a “real natural number 8” and there will be plenty more opportunities this season for him to get involved.

If he continues his excellent rise, Van Bronckhorst will have a ready-made Davis replacement capable of making the step up.

Leeds United went through a busy summer of business in the transfer window as they brought in a host of fresh recruits and allowed some players to depart Elland Road.

Victor Orta sanctioned exits for Dan James, Kalvin Phillips, and Raphinha, with the latter two leaving on permanent deals to Manchester City and Barcelona respectively.

He reinvested that money into Jesse Marsch’s squad to bolster the team as he brought in the likes of Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra, and Marc Roca, among others, throughout the summer.

However, they wanted to sign a senior striker to lead the line for them in the 2022/23 campaign and failed to bring one in as a move for Bamba Dieng collapsed on deadline day.

The Marseille striker opted against a move to Elland Road and pursued a transfer to fellow Ligue 1 side Nice, only to fail a medical and remain with his current club.

This means that Orta could have a number nine on his radar heading into the January transfer window, with Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo – who can also play in midfield – being the two senior strikers on the books until then.

However, Marsch could now save owner Andrea Radrizzani millions by finding a solution to their problem within the squad.

He could prevent the club from needing to splash out a huge transfer fee on a new centre-forward by unleashing Joe Gelhardt and giving him regular game time before the World Cup break.

The 20-year-old, who Beren Cross dubbed “absolutely outrageous”, has played five matches in the Premier League this season but has only started one match and needs an extended run of games to show that he has the quality to be the striker they have been searching for.

He showed glimpses of being a big player for Leeds last season as he caught the eye in his limited game time for the club in the top-flight. The gem only started five matches in the division, out of 20 appearances, and chipped in with two goals and four assists – creating four ‘big chances’ for his teammates.

Gelhardt, who Jamie Redknapp described as a “human wrecking ball”, was initially promoted to the first team after he set the Premier League 2 on fire for the youth team. He racked up 18 goals and four assists in 26 matches at that level and has 36 direct goal contributions in his club career to date, which highlights the goalscoring potential he has within him.

At the age of 20, he is still learning the game and growing with more experience and exposing him to a run of starts in the top-flight could accelerate his development and help him to become the striker they need.

His goal contributions in the Premier League last season and his immense record at youth level suggest that the quality is there for him to be the go-to man for Marsch if he can fulfill his potential.

Therefore, the American head coach must unleash him from the start and allow him the chance to prove that he can fill the void up front, saving the club millions in the process.

Aston Villa have been keen on splashing the cash in recent years, allowing Dean Smith and now Steven Gerrard to stamp their mark on the side in an attempt to push for European football.

Whilst it is still early days in the latter’s managerial career, it seems like he has already dropped the ball when he swooped for wantaway full-back Lucas Digne.

Signing him from Everton, a club in disarray at the time, it seemed like they had pulled off a massive coup on one of the league’s most creative defenders.

During the 2018/19 season, he created more chances (71) than any other defender in the Premier League.

It, therefore, makes his start to life at Villa Park all the more underwhelming, as his six-month stint last season disappointed almost as much as his start to this campaign.

Purchased for £25m too and handed astronomical wages of £163k-per-week for a 29-year-old, it was a risk Gerrard was clearly willing to take to acquire a forward-thinking left-back to further implement his system.

All in all, given his £8.5m per year salary, after this season he will have cost NSWE a total of £36.75m

During his eight-month (35 week) period at the club so far, he has just one goal and four assists in 24 games.

Compared with his last full season with the Toffees, during the 2020/21 season, he assisted seven times in 30 games, a far better return.

His average SofaScore rating of 6.81 this season is also indicative of an underperforming player, who offers little defensively if he is not going forward.

With zero assists this season in their opening seven league fixtures, the Frenchman is dribbled past 0.9 times per game whilst only winning possession 0.6 times.

His defensive deficiencies could be overlooked at Goodison Park due to his fantastic offensive output, but with that having dried up for Aston Villa, they are left with a shell of the player they intended to buy.

There is still time for him to come good for Gerrard, but his side’s faltering start to the season means it might be harder than just flipping a switch. It will take hard work and some tough words, which is similar to what Rafa Benitez used to drive him out of Merseyside.

Leeds United have enjoyed a solid start to their 2022/23 Premier League campaign, with Jesse Marsch’s side currently sitting in 11th place in the top flight standings – having won two, drawn two and lost two of their opening six fixtures of the season.

However, a humbling 5-2 defeat at Brentford last time out highlighted the fact that, should the 48-year-old manager wish to give his side the best possible chance of a top-half finish this term, work still needs to be done on his first-team squad.

Indeed, centre-back has already proven something of a problem position for the American this season, with neither Robin Koch nor Deigo Llorente particularly impressing in the absence of Liam Cooper – who is yet to feature in the league due to injury.

Although, while the obvious solution to this problem may be the signing of a new centre-back in the January transfer window, Marsch could already possess the answer to his prayers in a player much closer to home – Charlie Cresswell.

A product of the Whites academy, the defender first caught the eye under Marcelo Bielsa, making his club debut in a Carabao Cup defeat to Hull City as an 18-year-old back in 2020, before featuring in his first Premier League fixture in September of last year.

The 20-year-old went on to make a further four top-flight appearances last season, as well as becoming a regular in Marsch’s first team towards the end of the campaign – having at least a spot on the bench in every league fixture under the American.

However, it has undoubtedly been since Cresswell’s season-long loan switch to Millwall when the centre-back has most demonstrated his enormous potential – having immediately become an important player within Gary Rowett’s side.

Indeed, over his eight Championship appearances this season, the £2.7m-rated talent has helped his side keep one clean sheet, as well as made an average of 1.9 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 1.6 clearances and won 7.6 duels – at a success rate of 63% – per game.

The defender has also impressed in an attacking capacity, scoring three goals and providing one assist, in addition to taking an average of 1.3 shots, making 0.4 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles – at a success rate of 100% – per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Rowett dubbed “quality” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.16, not only ranking him as Millwall’s best performer in the league but also as the joint 31st-best player in the division as a whole.

As such, it is no wonder why midfielder Billy Mitchell claimed the youngster has taken “everyone by surprise” in south London, as it has become evident that the England U21 international is a hugely talented and incredibly exciting young centre-back.

Indeed, should the 20-year-old continue his remarkable development, there would appear no reason the £5.4k-per-week gem could not go on to become the Whites’ next Rio Ferdinand – who highly impressed for Leeds before securing a £30m move away.

There are clear similarities between the two, with the former England international being well known for his ball-playing ability and threat in the opposition penalty area – scoring 13 goals and registering 12 assists in his career.

The same could easily be said about Cresswell, with Rowett having already raved about the youngster’s impressive “range of passing” during his time at Millwall, while his three goals in eight Championship fixtures speak for his threat in the final third.

As such, not only would the Whites’ academy prospect be a clear solution to the club’s current centre-back woes, he could well go on to become Leeds’ next Ferdinand-esque defender – a prospect sure to excite the Elland Road faithful and Marsch alike.

Derby County are set to be faced with a fresh threat ahead of the start of the 2022/23 season as the Rams could receive a three-point deduction heading into the new campaign, according to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon.

The Lowdown: Takeover update

The Rams entered administration back in September last year amid ongoing financial problems at the club, and despite a valiant effort after multiple deductions, Wayne Rooney’s side were relegated to League One.

Chris Kirchner was named as the preferred bidder for Derby in April, but even though most of the key areas of the takeover had already been arranged, a new roadblock appeared as it was reported that the American businessman was reluctant to proceed if unable to strike up a deal with Mel Morris for Pride Park.

However, Kirchner’s exclusivity period has now been extended by Quantuma after expiring last weekend, hopefully providing more time for negotiations to be agreed.

The Latest: Derby facing new threat

In a new report published on Nixon’s personal Patreon page after that update (via Football League World), it’s claimed that a new three-point deduction will come into action if the administrators fail to pay the player’s wages for the month of May, a term that would be triggered after being issued two years ago following Morris not paying the playing staff.

In addition, if it’s revealed that the County squad are not paid on time in June either, then there’s a possibility that the club could be dealt an extra three-point deduction on top of the original one.

The source states that the only way in which the club could avoid these punishments altogether is if all of the players and staff decided to defer their wages on a voluntary basis until there is a sufficient sum of money in the bank.

The Verdict: A never-ending saga

Fans of the Rams will have no doubt have been praying the constant points deductions was all over now that the Championship season has come to an end, but it looks like that’s far from the case.

There were rumours circulating back in February that Derby had informed the EFL that they were close to completely running out of money, so it wouldn’t come as any surprise to see Quantuma fail to cough up the amount required to prevent this further sanction.

If Kirchner still has strong intentions to complete a deal for the takeover of the club, hopefully this is something that can be finalised over the coming days to kickstart the new chapter of Rooney’s Rams before the opening day of the new season.

Nottingham Forest have been handed a boost in their bid to sign Aberdeen defender Luke Turner.

What’s the word?

That is according to a report from Nottingham Forest News that the Scottish Premiership side will not be offering the Irish defender a new contract, meaning that he will become a free agent.

Speaking to the Press and Journal, Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin said: “Luke has had a really good loan period over in the Northern Ireland and has done particularly well. We just believe it’s a little bit short for what we’re looking for in that area.

“We’ve got another one of two good young centre-backs coming through the system and you’re always wary of blocking that pathway.”

The next Scott McKenna

With Turner set to go on trial at Forest, if the 19-year-old is to earn himself a deal with the club, then Cooper will be hoping that he can replicate the progression shown by Scott McKenna, who is also an Aberdeen youth product.

The 25-year-old has been immense for Forest and has played a key part in helping the club achieve their ambition of reaching the Championship play-offs.

If Turner – who has been dubbed “outstanding” – is to win a contract at the City Ground, then the starlet will certainly have a role model on whom to base his game and aid his development.

However, it is also important to not get too far ahead, with the teenager’s experience of first team football limited to the Northern Ireland top flight and Republic of Ireland second tier.

Having been told that his contract at Aberdeen will not be renewed, the 19-year-old is set to leave without making a senior appearance for the Dons, yet more evidence towards the notion that the club do not rate him.

A particular comment made by Goodwin came across as harsh when he said: “We’ve got another one of two good young centre-backs coming through the system and you’re always wary of blocking that pathway.”

Cooper will be hoping that Turner can prove his doubters wrong and earn himself a career at Forest. After all, with the Reds’ history with youth products, it bodes well that they are interested in signing him.

In other news – Imagine him & Johnson: Cooper must seal Forest swoop for “magic” 20-goal livewire