Lyndon Dykes is ready made Rangers No 9 and club must not repeat Billy Gilmour mistake – Barry Ferguson

Rangers may have missed the boat where bringing Billy Gilmour back to Ibrox this summer is concerned. But I genuinely hope they don’t make the same mistake with his Scotland team-mate Lyndon Dykes.

I’ll get back to Gilmour in a minute because the young man’s exceptional performance the other night against Georgia has confirmed what some of us already knew – that he really is destined to play at the highest level. And, unfortunately, that Brighton would be mad to even consider letting him leave the club on loan. It’s not going to happen.

But the more I watch our national team go from strength to strength under Steve Clarke, the more certain I am that Dykes is a ready made Rangers No.9. Put it this way, if I was Michael Beale I’d be all over the big man right now. They’ve already worked together at QPR so the manager knows what he’d be getting if he did bring the Aussie back over the border.

I know there will be some fans rolling their eyes at the thought of it but I don’t care what anyone else says, he’d be an absolute sensation in a Rangers shirt. I remember thinking the same thing when he was at LIvingston and the higher up he goes in the game, the better he’s becoming.

He’s not just a big throw back of a centre forward, although there is no doubt his physicality is one of his biggest strengths. He ruffles defenders up, he wins everything in the air, he knows where the back of the net is and he works his backside off.

But technically, he’s a lot better than most people give him credit for. He can take the ball down and bring others into play – which is exactly the job Alfredo Morelos did for the team when he was fit and looking interested.

So, yes, if I was Beale I wouldn’t think twice because it would be a no risk