Rangers announced the signing of Jamie Murphy on Sunday morning. The deal will be a loan until the end of the season with a fixed transfer fee in the summer. He becomes our third signing of this window and the third British-based player we have brought in, following Cardiff making Declan John’s deal permanent and Sean Goss being taken on loan from QPR.

Murphy is a signing that makes a lot of sense, in my opinion. We have lacked a left-sided attacking option all season. Josh Windass has mostly filled that role with varying degrees of success. However, Windass is much more at home playing as a no.10 or as a second striker.

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Murphy, along with being a Rangers fan, is a good footballer. It’s noticeable that during his career each move he has made has been a step up. It’s a plus-point for him that with those steps forward he has had to refine his game and has become a better player as a result. Naturally, it was in his younger days at Motherwell where he first caught my eye. His pace and eye for goal were the two attributes that stood out from the others at that point in his career.

It didn’t come as a shock to me that he went to England and made a decent career for himself, especially as he had those two attributes that I alluded to. Hopefully, he can replicate some of his form from his Brighton and Sheffield United days at Ibrox. If he can do that, he will prove to be a very good signing, I have no doubt about that.

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In fact, it would not be churlish of me to compare him to another winger in the league – Celtic’s Scott Sinclair. They are similar ages and they were both at the same point in their career down south. Perhaps Murphy is in a better place at the moment coming from an EPL squad rather than Aston Villa’s reserves. But I am hopeful that he can make a similar impact for Rangers as Sinclair has for Celtic. They are also quite similar in playing styles too – both quick and love to cut in from the left flank. It’s a signing that is not only practical but is quite exciting too.

The only downside is that he hasn’t played much football this season. So it may take him a few weeks to find his feet and build up his match sharpness. Having said that, one thing I am looking forward to is the balance he will give us on the left side.

It will be excellent to have him as an option to play on the opposite flank to Daniel Candeias. Of course, he is not an out-and-out winger. He will provide more of a striker’s instinct and will attack the back post when Candeias is whipping crosses into the box. I am sure he will get his name of the scoresheet a few times before now and the season’s end, which in turn could help remove some of the goalscoring burden from Alfredo Morelos.

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Additionally, his signing will give us more options in the final third, which has been sorely lacking season so far. The combination of Murphy, Windass and Candeias playing behind Morelos is an interesting attacking prospect and that front four will be more rounded in terms of skillset and compatibility; they will help us become a potent attack threat. Murphy’s pace will be an asset on the break – another weapon we have lacked this season. Furthermore, I am hopeful that he will be able to link up well with both of our left-backs, Lee Wallace and Declan John. If he can link up with them the way Tavernier and Candeias have done, it would be an ideal scenario.

This is a signing that I think will be a really smart piece of business. I cannot wait to see how Murphy will take to life at Rangers. If he can perform to his maximum, he has all the qualities to become a fans’ favourite very quickly. More importantly, I think we have finally found our answer to that gaping hole on the left-hand side of our team and I am delighted that we have.