Glasgow Rangers manager Michael Beale could be a busy man this month as he navigates his way through his first transfer window in charge of the club.

The English head coach arrived at Ibrox during the World Cup break to replace Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst and has not had a chance to stamp his own mark on the squad as of yet.

He can now use the January transfer window to bring in players of his own to bolster the squad and one area of concern could be some of the players who are out of contract at the end of the season.

Eight players are set to depart on free transfers in the summer and Beale could dip into the market this month in order to replace them ahead of their potential exits.

Ryan Jack is one of the players whose deal expires at the end of the campaign and the Light Blues must ditch him by bringing in a replacement before the end of the window.

The Scotland international turns 31 in February and has proven himself to be a liability for the club due to his terrible injury record in recent years.

Since the start of the 2017/18 campaign, Jack has suffered 15 separate injury or fitness issues that have ruled him out of competitive matches. He has missed eight games already this season and was absent for 32 outings in all competitions in the 2021/22 campaign, after sitting out of 37 clashes the year before that.

A player's most important quality is their availability as sitting on the sidelines is not helping the team on the pitch and Jack has done too much watching on in recent years, which is why Beale must finally ditch him by signing Keanu Baccus from St Mirren.

It was recently reported by The Sun that the Gers have sent scouts to watch the central midfielder in action this season as they weigh up a potential swoop to sign the gem this month.

The Australia international, who played four times at the World Cup, has played 17 of St Mirren's 18 matches in the Premiership, after starting 20 of the 27 A-League matches for Western Syndey Wanderers last term, which suggests that he would not come with any major fitness issues.

His current manager, Stephen Robinson, claimed that he has an "incredible work ethic" and this indicates that he would be a dream for Beale to work with on the training pitch.

The 24-year-old has made 3.5 tackles and interceptions per game, compared to Jack's 1.8, in the Premiership but only completed 75% of his attempted passes and his ability in possession is something that the manager could work on.

Rangers must now ditch their £12k-per-week liability and replace him with an up-and-coming midfield star who could bring fresh legs and defensive steel to the middle of the park.