Rangers beat Birmingham City to Tottenham deal this summer - All parties may wish they hadn’t | OneFootball

Tottenham's Mikey Moore has struggled on loan at Rangers, and a move to Birmingham City may have been better for the attacker.

When Rangers secured the signing of Mikey Moore on loan from Tottenham in the summer, it was seen as a real coup for the club.

The Glasgow outfit saw off competition from West Brom and Birmingham, who are both managed by former Spurs coaches in Ryan Mason and Chris Davies, which gives an insight into how highly rated the attacker is by those who have worked with him.

Yet, the prospect of moving north of the border, where Moore could compete for trophies, play in an attack-minded team and feature in Europe, was seen as the best destination for his development.

Mikey Moore endures a difficult start to life at Rangers

However, even though we are just a matter of months into the new season, it’s fair to say that Moore’s move to Rangers hasn’t worked out at all.

Firstly, as has been well documented, Russell Martin struggled massively in the top job at Ibrox, with the club having already sacked the ex-Southampton chief after his disastrous start.

From Moore’s perspective, he also hasn’t made the impact he would’ve wanted on the pitch.

The 18-year-old is yet to register a goal or an assist for Rangers in a league game or in Europe, with his single goal contribution coming via an assist against Alloa. More worryingly, Moore has struggled to show why he is regarded as a top talent at Tottenham and with England.

It remains to be seen whether a change in management will alter the situation for Moore, and that’s perhaps the one saving grace for the player, as many of his teammates struggled under Martin as well. So, it will be intriguing to see who the new head coach is, and how big a role Moore will play.

Mikey Moore may have benefited from Birmingham City loan

Of course, it’s far too soon to write Moore’s time at Rangers off, but there must be some questioning whether he would've been better off joining Birmingham.

Whilst Blues are a big club, there are different demands that come with playing for Rangers, as it’s all about winning trophies and trying to end Celtic’s dominance.

That brings an added pressure for all players, and it means Moore is under an intense spotlight that may not have come in the Championship.

So, if Moore isn’t a good fit for Rangers at the moment, you begin to think how he would’ve fared at St. Andrew’s, and when you see Blues’ attacking issues, it’s natural to think he would have helped Davies and his team.

A return of eight goals in nine games is simply not good enough, and whilst patience is required as the boss tries to find the right formula to get the best out of several new recruits, it’s clear things aren’t working right now.

And, that’s where Moore could have helped. Even though Rangers fans haven’t seen it, this is a player who can make things happen in the final third with his ability to beat his opponent. The youngster is someone who is brave in possession, will take risks on the ball, and can make incisive, forward passes.

Another factor that must be taken into consideration is Moore’s teammates, and it’s no surprise that he looked comfortable around the talent at Spurs when he broke into the first-team.

Whilst Blues’ squad obviously isn’t on that level, they still have a lot of quality, and you could see Moore quickly develop an understanding with the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Jay Stansfield and Demarai Gray. Sadly for Rangers, they look to have made plenty of poor recruitment decisions, and the team is lacking the quality they need, which may have harmed Moore.

Again, it’s very early days, and all the chaos at Ibrox won’t have helped Moore as he looks to show his undoubted class on a regular basis.

Nevertheless, with Rangers’ struggles, Birmingham’s lack of creativity, and Moore’s poor form, all parties will be wondering if they made the right call in the summer transfer window.