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This article is part of Football FanCast's Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news...

20-year-old Andrew Dallas has left Rangers for Cambridge United on a permanent deal, signing a two-year contract with the League Two side.

What's the story

The striker had been on a two-week trial at Colin Calderwood's side and impressed enough for the club to part with an undisclosed fee for his services. He had spent the second half of last season at Morton, but only scored once in 13 appearances for the Ton, despite the Gers' departure announcement calling him a "prolific goalscorer".

Dallas joins fellow strikers Ryan Hardie and Kyle Lafferty in departing Steven Gerrard's men this summer as the manager reshapes his squad. The changes mean, as things stand, the Gers can call upon Jermain Defoe, Alfredo Morelos and Zak Rudden to lead the line at Ibrox for the coming season.

Some Rangers fans weren't happy to see one of their most promising stars depart the club, but they shouldn't sulk for too long.

Zak is back

While losing a highly thought of youth product is never nice, Dallas' departure opens the door for Rudden to stake his claim to be the back-up to Morelos and Defoe. Rudden starred on loan at Falkirk last season and despite the side getting relegated to League One made a name for himself.

The 19-year-old was prolific, particularly as it was part of a woeful Falkirk side, scoring 13 times and assisting a further five in his 35 appearances for the Bairns. Compare this to Dallas' one strike in 13 in Greenock and you can begin to understand why the decision was made to sell the 20-year-old.

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In Rudden, Gerrard has a player who is admittedly still raw but can be trusted if he's to earn some first-team minutes this season. 13 goals for a side who struggled from the get-go last year shows he's no fair-weather scorer.

A loan to a lower-end Premiership outfit or promotion-chasing Championship side might yet be on the cards, but if Rangers hang on to Rudden this summer and give him a real chance behind the first-choice duo then the concerns around Dallas' departure could be forgotten in an instant.

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