A Rangers audition was well and truly aced last weekend as Barry Ferguson’s side survived an almighty scare before Cyriel Dessers shattered Dundee hearts.
Now, it wasn’t quite as spectacular as the Cristiano Ronaldo performance which encouraged Manchester United to make the blonde-tipped Sporting Lisbon wonderkid the player to inherit David Beckham’s famous number seven shirt back in 2003.
But, not for the first time this year, Josh Mulligan showed that Andy Halliday might have been onto something when the former Ibrox midfielder urged Rangers to bring the Dundee roadrunner to Glasgow.
Halliday, back in early January, suggested that both Lyall Cameron and the aforementioned Mulligan should be under consideration on the blue side of the city. A few weeks later, a beaming Nils Koppen secured Cameron’s signature on a pre-contract arrangement.
Now, with Mulligan’s Dens Park deal also set to expire at the end of June – and with Koppen insisting that Ibrox will always be home to the best young talent in Scotland – there is a chance that the Dundee teammates could be reunited in a new dressing room soon enough.
Rangers urged to sign Dundee’s Josh Mulligan for a second time
Josh Mulligan was at his rampaging best when Dundee held Rangers to a 1-1 draw shortly after the Hogmanay celebrations died down.
Three months on, with Rangers returning to Dens Park and this time triumphing by the odd goal in seven, the all-action right-sider again did his chances of following Cameron up the ladder no harm at all.
Suddenly, Halliday is not the only one suggesting that a future in the Old Firm may await the Scotland Under-21 international.
“Celtic and Rangers should be going for him,” says Paul Slane, the one-time Hoops prospect who played under Barry Ferguson at Clyde.
A versatile and highly-energetic footballer, Mulligan started on the right of Dundee’s midfield three when Rangers came to town. The 22-year-old has also been utilised as a winger and as a buccaneering right-back.
Both are positions Rangers are expected to strengthen in the summer. Captain James Tavernier rolled back the years at Dens Park but turns 34 in October. And while Vaclav Cerny is keen to stay at Ibrox, finances dictate that the Wolfsburg loanee may be simply too expensive.
Andy Halliday says Rangers need a bigger squad to compete with Celtic
Even if Rangers find a way to keep Cerny, and even if Tavernier continues to defy Father Time, Halliday feels that Mulligan and Cameron are the sort of low-cost, low-risk additions required to boost a rather thin roster.
“[Rangers] just need to prepare a squad, whether it’s depth, quality, line up players for the summer and try to do as much business as they can,” Halliday argued back in January, highlighting the impact former Dundee talisman Luke McCowan has made down the road at Celtic.
“Two players I would sign right now; Lyall Cameron and Josh Mulligan. Honestly, I would sign the two of them.
“Mulligan is an athletic monster, I am signing him. I am signing the two of them on pre-contracts. “[Koppen] mentioned homegrown talent. See your Mulligans and Lyall Camerons, I’m not saying signing them is going to win Rangers the league.
“But see what [Luke] McCowan is doing for Celtic, get them two boys for proper squad depth, they will play games and do well for you.”
‘Rangers should be going for him’: Pundit names the Premiership star who must follow Lyall Cameron to Ibrox
