Rangers possibly ruing Ryan Hardie sale for first time since Ibrox exit

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It is no secret that Alfredo Morelos is currently going through one of the poorest spells of his Rangers career, with his last league goal for the Gers coming back on Boxing Day.

Florian Kamberi has done well since arriving on loan. But Morelos’s struggles have been fairly alarming, particularly given that he has 29 goals under his belt in all competitions this season.

In fact, in the time since Morelos’s most recent top flight goal, a striker Steven Gerrard sold has found the back of the net seven times.

So perhaps it may be fair to say that Rangers may possibly be ruing the decision to let Ryan Hardie leave for the first time since he moved on from Ibrox last summer.

Of course, there is every chance that Hardie would not be playing right now even if he had remained a Rangers player.

He spent the large majority of Gerrard’s first season with the Gers out on loan. And his second spell with Livingston included high and low points.

There is every chance that he would have been struggling to force his way into the side had he stayed – even with Morelos struggling and Jermain Defoe sidelined with injury.

But his seven goals – including three in his last three games – since joining Plymouth on loan from Blackpool in January may act as a reminder for some Rangers fans of the previous potential he showed.

Once again, there should be a big asterisk put against his current run of form. He is playing in League Two having failed to score in a handful of appearances at the level above during the first-half of the campaign.

But he is showing that he knows where the goal is.

Gerrard’s introduction of Jordan Jones in Sunday’s win over Ross County felt like a real throw of the dice. While some fans have wanted Jones to be given another chance for some time, Gerrard has seemingly been reluctant.

But with Rangers looking set to go another league game without a win, Jones got his opportunity. And it may not be a surprise to see receive a few more after looking bright.

Had Hardie stayed, he could have perhaps been another player on the periphery of the squad who could have benefitted from the team’s struggles.

He has now shown at a number of clubs that he can find the back of the net.

And while it remains a huge leap to suggest that Rangers made a mistake selling him, perhaps you could understand if some fans were starting to wonder if the right decision was made last summer.