Rangers eye Meghoma loan as Dessers nears return for Brugge playoff

Rangers received a timely update on Cyriel Dessers’ fitness as the club presses ahead with plans for a demanding schedule, including a Champions League playoff with Club Brugge, while also pursuing reinforcements to bolster a squad still ironing out domestic form. Dessers’ knee issue, sustained after 54 minutes against Viktoria Plzen, is not as serious as feared and should allow him to return in the coming weeks. The result still delivered a 4-2 aggregate success, setting up a high-profile playoff in which Rangers will need to show their best form to reach the league phase.

Manager Russell Martin has made clear the team will look different in the near term as he pursues additions to the squad. He indicated that a number of targets could arrive before the first leg with Club Brugge, with a left-back replacement a particular priority given Ridvan Yilmaz has not featured in this season’s squads. One player identified as a potential addition is Jayden Meghoma, a 19-year-old left-back who has trained with Rangers previously and is highly regarded by Martin. “Jayden is a player we know from Southampton, spent a year with us as a young boy, training every day, understands the work,...