The January transfer window is fast approaching and Giovanni van Bronckhorst will have his first opportunity to bring his own players to Rangers.

He joined the club last month after Steven Gerrard's departure for Aston Villa and that means that he is yet to experience a window at Ibrox as the club's manager.

Time's up

With this, the ex-Feyenoord coach has the chance to both sign players and let others go, with certain moves in the market affecting other players in the squad.

One player who has been linked with the club since the 43-year-old's arrival in Glasgow is Dutch centre-back Wesley Hoedt. The Anderlecht man is reportedly under consideration by the Gers ahead of January, with Ross Wilson having signed him during his time at Southampton in England.

Bringing Hoedt to the club could result in a centre-back being shipped out permanently to offset the place he takes up in the squad. This could mean that Nikola Katic is jettisoned from Glasgow upon the end of his loan spell with Hajduk Split in Croatia.

The 25-year-old was sent out on loan at the start of the campaign and the signing of another central defender could push him further down the pecking order at Ibrox and potentially even mean that his time at the club is up.

Back in 2019, then-Gers boss Gerrard was full of praise for Katic, saying: “The kid is a winner and a warrior. We know what he gives. Anyone his age, after giving the penalty away, might have gone into their shell. It might have affected their performance.

“But if you knock Niko Katic down, he’s gonna get back up and come again. That’s the man, that’s the player.”

As much as he may be a warrior and a leader at the back, the £10k-per-week beast could have a struggle on his hands to force his way back into the first-team picture. Calvin Bassey, Leon Balogun, Jack Simpson, Filip Helander and Hoedt could all be in his way, whilst Connor Goldson's future also remains undecided with his contract up at the end of the season.

Upon his arrival at Southampton, Les Reed referred to Hoedt as a 'top quality' centre-back who had 'proven' his talent at Lazio in Italy. The 6 foot 3 colossus has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.02 for Anderlecht in Belgium this season, completing 87% of his passes and making 4.2 clearances per game.

This shows why Rangers may want to sign him in January, as he has previously shown his ability at the top level in Italy and is now thriving in Belgium. His statistics and pedigree also suggest that he would not be coming to Ibrox to sit on the bench, and that is why Van Bronckhorst may be forced to offload Katic, as the prospective signing of Hoedt could leave the Croatian without a route back into the first team picture.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than McLaughlin: Rangers dud with 56% pass accuracy let GvB down badly...