Michael Beale was never going to transform Glasgow Rangers in a single transfer window, with his long-term goal of establishing the Ibrox giants as the best team in the country likely to take another six to 12 months before (hopefully) coming to fruition.

January was a solid start, though, with the Premiership club signing Todd Cantwell (24) and Nicolas Raskin (21) to add some freshness into a midfield which has been somewhat ageing.

However, one man that they did miss out on signing was Morgan Whittaker, despite submitting multiple bids for the player.

Beale admitted that he thought the Swansea City winger was eye-catching, saying: “There was just one bid that went in that got rejected. There’s been a lot of hot air around the situation. I think he’s a boy they like, that’s why they brought him back from Plymouth.

“They’ve obviously got their plans with him. I thought he was the most eye-catching player in League One this season and he’s gone back to Swansea, they’re probably looking at the league table and thinking he’s a valuable asset. There’s no problem with that, he’s a good player and I wish him and Swansea well.”

It’s a shame that Rangers couldn’t work out a deal for Whittaker, especially considering how much of an upgrade he could’ve been on Scott Wright.

The 25-year-old has struggled to get into any sort of rhythm this season under either Giovanni van Bronckhorst or Beale. The Scot has registered just two assists from 27 matches, hardly the attacking threat that the Light Blues requires from the right flank.

His Sofascore rating of 6.65/10 for his Premiership performances ranks him a lowly 26th out of the whole squad, while he has registered just 0.5 shots and 0.4 key passes per game and created zero big chances.

Compare this to Whittaker, who excelled during the first half of the season on loan at English League One side Plymouth Argyle. The “flamboyant winger” – as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig – was in fine form for the Devon club, scoring nine goals and registering seven assists across 25 matches.

He managed 3.1 shots, made 1.3 key passes and completed 0.9 dribbles per match and created seven big chances at Home Park, proving just how effective he was on the right wing as he displayed his wonderful attacking abilities to devastating effect.

There seems little doubt that the 22-year-old would have been a much better option for Rangers than Wright, but Beale obviously thinks that he has the required options at his disposal to cause teams plenty of problems.

The Ibrox giants certainly missed a trick on the Swansea wizard, although the summer transfer window will come around before long and Beale might consider having another bite of the cherry then.