Derek McInnes has warned Rangers' recruitment chiefs to act quickly after the club were hit by a double injury blow, with Youssef Chermiti ruled out for the season and Tuur Rommens sidelined for up to eight weeks.
The Ibrox boss is now short of options in defence ahead of Thursday's Europa League third qualifying round second leg against Jagiellonia Bialystok, who lead 2-1 from the first leg in Poland.
Defensive crisis deepens
Chermiti ruptured his ACL, while Rommens has joined Ben Godfrey on the treatment table with a groin strain. That leaves McInnes with only four fit central defenders – Manny Fernandez, Olwethu Makhanya, Ross McCrorie and Dujon Sterling – for the crucial European tie.
McInnes admitted the situation is a concern, saying: "We're really short on numbers. We don't have a left-footed defender in the building. We're keen to try and get that resolved as quickly as possible because I do think that the numbers we've got there, we are playing with fire."
Transfer plans accelerated
The club are already closing in on a £7m deal for PSV winger Couhaib Driouech, which is expected to be completed before the Jagiellonia match. Now recruitment chief Dan Purdy and CEO Jim Gillespie are focusing on finding a striker and a left-back.
AEK Athens' James Penrice, former Brentford loanee Jayden Meghoma, and Sheffield United frontman Ryan One are among those being considered.
McInnes said: "It's in the hands of the recruitment team to try to get that over the line. Nothing has been finalised yet, so we are waiting for that to play out. Hopefully, we can get some good news before the close of play tonight."
Chermiti is travelling to London to see a specialist ahead of surgery, with McInnes describing the injury as "a tough one for the boy and a tough one for us". He added: "The only saving grace from our point of view as a club, the fact that it's happened in a transfer window. And we've got the opportunity to react to that."
