Glasgow Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson may forever regret his failure to sign Josh Maja in the summer after he missed the boat with Bordeaux's main man.

What was the story?

According to an initial report from Football Insider, Rangers were interested in signing Maja from the French Ligue 1 side in the summer as they considered potential replacements for Alfredo Morelos, who had attracted interest from clubs across Europe.

As the director of football, it's part of Wilson's job to take charge of recruitment strategies, and the 21-year-old was reportedly at the top of his list of transfer targets.

Get French Football News claimed Bordeaux were bracing themselves for talks with the Gers, but a move never materialised in the end, as Wilson signed Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe instead.

Missed the boat

The one-time Nigeria international started his career at the Manchester City academy, yet failed to make much of an impression, but injected a new spark into his career during his time at the Stadium of Light with Sunderland.

Maja bagged 17 times and 2 assists in 49 appearances in all competitions for the Black Cats, including a late brace against Bury to win Simon Grayson's first game in charge.

His former boss Jack Ross described him as a "fantastic" beast in an interview with the Sunderland Echo (as quoted by Chronicle Live), saying: "I worked with him for eight months and in that time he was fantastic not only on the pitch but also the way he conducted himself off the pitch. His willingness and desire to improve and get better every day was terrific."

His rather acrimonious departure from Sunderland to Bordeaux last January was brought to life by the behind-the-scenes Netflix documentary 'Sunderland 'Til I Die'. However, since then, he has barely put a foot wrong, as he bagged his first hat-trick for club and country during the 6-0 win over Nimes at the Matmut Atlantique last season.

In 41 games for the Girondins, the Nigerian has still managed to score eleven goals and supply three assists, which is a pretty decent return, especially when you consider the fact that he has made 22 of those appearances as an impact substitute from the bench.

Standing at 5 ft 9 in tall, just like Jermain Defoe, Maja isn't the tallest of strikers, but he more than makes up for his lack of height with his strong ball-playing and finishing abilities.

Given his age, Defoe is arguably reaching the twilight of his career, so bringing in the youngster would have given Gerrard a player who still has plenty of room to grow and improve in terms of his development, as well as the fact that he would've been able to hit the ground running, given his solid return for Bordeaux, as he has proven that he is able to score goals consistently at a good level.

But the Ibrox boss will have to work his magic with Itten instead, who has failed to find the back of the net since he grabbed a second half double away at Motherwell before the international break.

AND in other news, Ross Wilson must cash in on Glasgow Rangers outcast Jordan Jones in January...