Rangers have completed their fifth signing of the January transfer window and their first permanent one with the £680,000 capture of Scotland Under-21 midfielder Greg Docherty from Hamilton Academical on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
The Ibrox club moved to secure the talented youngster from the Lanarkshire club after over 100 appearances for them. Graeme Murty, the Rangers manager, had targeted the 21-year-old as a must-have signing for this window and he is the first player Murty has been allowed to spend money on, after he completed his medical at the club’s Auchenhowie training base late last night.
Rangers have already brought in Jason Cummings, Russell Martin, Sean Goss and Jamie Murphy on loan this month. In December they turned Declan John’s loan move into a permanent one and Docherty adds to a squad which has suffered from injuries recently.
Docherty, who made his Hamilton debut in 2013, is another product of the New Douglas Park club’s much-praised youth conveyor belt of talent which has previously produced the likes of James McCarthy and James McArthur, who are both now established English Premier League players.
He joined Hamilton and the age of nine and netted the all-important only goal of the game in the second leg of the Premiership play-off final last season against Dundee United.
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This week, after Rangers defeated Aberdeen 2-0 at Ibrox to go above the Pittodrie side, Murty admitted he would be thrilled with the capture of Docherty, who made 25 appearances for Hamilton this term.
He said: “It’s another bit of business for another young, hungry player desperate to enhance our group. When you saw the players gelling and the improvements we’ve made, it’s an exciting time for players and for me. I want to manage people here who are hungry to improve. I don’t know if it will be the end of our business.”
Docherty had received words of encouragement already, with Dougie Imrie insisting that the midfielder could soon break into the senior Scotland squad. Imrie saw first-hand Docherty’s progress from talented youth to senior player at Hamilton and is convinced that the midfielder has the talent to become a full international following his move to Ibrox.
“It’s going to be a massive loss for us,” Imrie said of a player who has won three caps at under-21 level. “Greg has been a fantastic servant to Hamilton — he’s worked really hard and deserves to get his big move. He has played over 100 games for us and I’m sure everyone here wishes him the very best at Rangers. He deserves this opportunity but his departure will leave a massive gap in our team.
“I think he will do really well. He’s got the ability to succeed at Ibrox. He’s level-headed and he will go there wanting to give it his best shot. If he does that, he will be a great player for Rangers. But I think his move could be beneficial to Scotland as well, a couple of years down the line.
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“I’m sure Greg wants to get onto the international scene. He’s played for the Scotland under-21s and, if he keeps developing the way he has at Hamilton, I’ve no doubts he will go on to be a Scotland international player.”