Rangers were dealt a big blow earlier this month when the news dropped that striker Alfredo Morelos will miss the rest of the season through injury.

In the Colombian's absence, Giovanni van Bronckhorst has had to rely on Kemar Roofe to fill in and lead the line for his side.

Even though the Gers have some important games left to play before the season draws to an end and the summer transfer window opens, it seems as though the club are in the mix to sign one player that could potentially bring an end to Roofe's time at Ibrox.

What's the news?

According to a recent report from Football League World, Rangers are interested in signing Stoke City striker Jacob Brown.

Since joining the Championship club back in September 2020 from Barnsley, the Scotsman has gone on to make 95 appearances for the Potters across all competitions.

Bad news for Roofe

This season has seen the 24-year-old Brown really make a name for himself as a dangerous goalscorer.

In 42 league appearances, the striker has found the back of the net 12 times and provided four assists along the way.

Labelled as a "versatile" player by Michael O'Neill and as a "bright talent" by journalist Alan Biggs, Brown has racked up more shots at goal (80) than any other Stoke player.

Also, no other forward has been able to match the same number of tackles (24) or interceptions (16) that Brown has, showing how he can defend from the front.

This shows just how much of an all-around useful player he is on the pitch for his side, who would surely be gutted to see him leave.

Even though Roofe has only played half the number of SPFL games that the £2.7m-rated Stoke striker has this season in the Championship, it seems rather difficult to get him to do much defensive work.

With 21 league games played, the Jamaican has only made two tackles and four interceptions for the Gers.

Taking this into account and the age difference between Brown and the 29-year-old Rangers figure, Stoke's sharp-shooter could be an ideal long-term upgrade on Roofe at Ibrox.

Moving forward, if the opportunity to sign the 24-year-old arises during the summer, Van Bronckhorst's side should be doing everything they can to bring the centre-forward to his home country and give him the chance to win titles with the Gers.

In other news: GvB can unearth Rangers’ next Aribo in rarely-seen 18 y/o who’s “unlike anyone else”