Kamberi: ‘I wanted Ibrox move the day I joined Hibs’
● Striker seals his ‘dream’ Rangers switch
Florian Kamberi completed a deadline day move to Rangers and claimed it has been his dream to play for the Ibrox club ever since he joined Hibs.
The Swiss-born player will join Steven Gerrard’s squad for the rest of the season to provide striking cover for the injured Jermain Defoe, who was ruled out for at least four weeks with the calf injury he suffered against Ross County on Wednesday night.
As Kamberi made his way to Glasgow, Rangers midfielder Greg Docherty headed in the opposite direction to join Hibs on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
Rangers manager Gerrard had finalised another loan signing earlier on Friday, with Romanian international playmaker Ianis Hagi making the switch from Belgian club Genk which has the option of becoming a permanent deal in the summer.
Adding at least one more forward became Gerrard’s priority in the wake of Defoe’s injury, leaving him in need of back-up fortopscoreralfredomorelos. Kamberi completed a medical yesterday afternoon in Glasgow and later expressed his delight at a move he says has been a long-term target since he moved to Hibs from Grasshoppers Zurich in 2018.
“I am very excited,” said Kamberi. “Ever since I came to Scotland it has been a dream for me to move to Rangers and it has happened today, so I am a very, very happy man.
“For me, Ibrox has the best atmosphere in Scotland. My second game for Hibs was against Rangers at Ibrox and after the game I told my agent my dream would be to play in that stadium for Rangers.”
Gerrard believes Kamberi is capable of making a significant contribution for Rangers as they bid to sustain their Premiership title bid in the coming months.
“We’ve watched him for
some time and know what he can bring to the group,” said Gerrard. “He is a hardworking, goalscoring attacker, who we believe will be able to contribute in a positive way to what we want to achieve this season.”
Rangers had also hoped to secure a loan deal for Burnley’s Czech international striker Matej Vydta who has featured only sparingly for the Premier League club this season.
But Burnley manager Sean Dyche was unwilling to sanction the departure of the 27-year-old former Watford and Derby County player, who moved to Turf Moor for £11 million in 2018, unless he could find replacement cover for his first-choice front men.