This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Rangers are reportedly set to battle Old Firm rivals Celtic for Charlton Athletic 21-year-old Alfie Doughty in January.

According to The Athletic, the Ibrox outfit have joined Celtic and Fulham in the race for the winger, whose contract expires in the summer meaning the player could sign a pre-contract with the two Scottish sides.

But would he a good signing for the Gers?

Our FLW writers give their thoughts...

Alfie Burns

Doughty is a good little player and I think he would be a good signing for Rangers.

Steven Gerrard is a manager that you want to play for. He’s working wonders at Ibrox and you can certainly see why a move to Scotland would appeal to Doughty.

My issue with Doughty making the move right now is the timing.

January is a notoriously hard month to move in, which could impact Doughty at Ibrox.

I’d prefer to see Doughty stick the season out at Charlton and then move on next summer.

That would give him the best chance of success at Ibrox.

16 questions about Lee Bowyer that Charlton Athletic fans may struggle to get correct – Can you get full marks?

 

Sam Rourke

Without a doubt.

He'd be a stellar addition to Rangers and is a player that is attracting more interest all the time, and it's no real surprise.

Doughty is an explosive option to have on the left-flank, and has showcased numerous times for Charlton just how effective he can be in terms of creating attacking opportunities from the wing.

For me, at the age of 20, Doughty has already shown that he has the qualities to excel in the SPFL, and Rangers should be keeping a very close eye on his situation at the Valley, with his contract up in the summer.

The winger is the sort of player who could make an immediate impact at Ibrox, whilst also given his age, has so much room to develop and erase any raw tendencies from his game.

Able to operate as a left-wing back, or as a left winger, he'd provide Gerrard with a long-term solution down the left flank.

Toby Wilding

I think this could be a very good signing for Rangers.

Doughty is clearly a promising prospect who already has the ability to make a significant impact going forward, and you imagine that will only improve with yet more experience.

It could also be argued that Rangers ought to be confident of making such a deal work, given the success they have already enjoyed with another form young Charlton prospect in the shape of Joe Aribo, something which could even help Rangers in this particular transfer battle.

Indeed, given Celtic's supposed interest in Doughty, it would no doubt give those associated with Rangers a huge sense of satisfaction if they were to swipe the young attacker from under the noses of their old rivals, meaning this is a deal that could go down very well both on and off the pitch at Ibrox.