Michael Beale knows Rangers duo Kemar Roofe and Tom Lawrence will now be desperate for more game time after both returned to action after lengthy spells in a friendly against Hamburg at Ibrox.
First-half goals from attacker Fashion Sakala and captain James Tavernier, with a penalty, had the Light Blues comfortably ahead at the interval and before a slew of substitutions took place.
Amid the replacements, Nigeria forward Cyriel Dessers – signed from Cremonese – made his home debut with Roofe coming back to action after a hip injury had kept him out since February, with fellow attacker Lawrence making his first appearance since August 2022, after he had recovered from a knee problem.
Hamburg substitute Jean-Luc Dompe curled in a fantastic free-kick in the last minute to make it 2-1 but the Gers boss was left with only positive vibes.
“Tom has come back after 10 months out,” said Beale, who is “confident enough” of getting in Ecuador midfielder Jose Cifuentes – after an agreement was reached with Major League Soccer side Los Angeles – before the opening cinch Premiership game against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on August 5.
“He (Lawrence) has been training outstandingly but you can see he needs to pick up his fitness. Almost a year out is a long time.
“It was always going to be towards the end of August when he could really put his foot to the floor and be at the maximum of being back, back.
“He’s racing ahead. In training, when we’re doing the smaller, tighter stuff, he looks fantastic and shows his quality.
“We know that there’s a step from that to a real game but it’s wonderful to have him back, similar to Kemar, two players that we were robbed of last season.
“Kemar and Tom are not the easiest people to manage because they want to play games.
“As much as I want to push them along slowly, they’ll have an opinion on that as well.
“But I think we have a real strength in the forward positions. I wanted to end the Hamburg game with Sam (Lammers) in behind Cyriel and Kemar because it’s something I’m looking at.”
Beale was pleased with the cameo appearance of Dessers in the second half as he highlighted the attacking options he had on the pitch by the end of the game.
The former QPR boss said: “You could see with Cyriel and Kemar that they’re very similar. As a partnership, they could be very, very interesting.
“They’ve probably both done about five or six days of pre-season so you’re seeing them at 30 or 40 per cent fit.
“I think Dessers will be one of three or four players who can get us double figures in goals this season.
“If we’re a good team, we’ll share the goals out. But Cyriel has come in and he’s really fresh, energetic. We’re trying to get as many forwards as we can on the pitch.
“We ended the game today with Dessers, Roofe, Lammers, Lawrence and Cantwell so it’s very front foot.”
Beale previously admitted interest in Feyenoord’s Brazilian forward Danilo, with the Ibrox club reported to have offered £5million for the 24-year-old.
The Rangers boss said: “There’s nothing less or more on Danilo. There’s lots of speculation about bids being accepted or rejected – it’s somewhere in between.
“It’ll either come to fruition or it won’t. He’s a good player but we’re not the only team interested. And he’s not the only target we have either.
“Out of respect for Arne Slot and Feyenoord, the negotiations should stay quiet. Where it goes, we’ll wait and see.”
Leverkusen star Wirtz named Bundesliga Player of the Year
Florian Wirtz played a starring role for Bayer Leverkusen this season and has been named the Bundesliga Player of the Year.
Wirtz scored 11 goals and provided a further 11 assists on the way to helping Leverkusen win their first-ever top-flight title.
The forward was pivotal in Leverkusen’s title charge as they became the first German team to complete an unbeaten season.
Only Victor Boniface has scored more goals than Wirtz this campaign, netting 14 times, while his tally of 11 assists is second only to Alejandro Grimaldo (13) across the Bundesliga.
Wirtz came off the bench to score a hat-trick in Leverkusen’s 5-0 win over Werder Bremen in April which clinched the title with five games remaining.
The Bundesliga champions still have the German Cup final on Saturday against Kaiserslautern, which follows the Europa League final against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Wirtz played a critical role in helping Leverkusen reach their third European final, having been involved in eight goals in the Europa League this season (four goals, four assists), the most of any player in the team.
He has also created 28 chances from open play in the competition, a tally only five players can better in a Europa League campaign, most recently Amin Younes for Ajax in 2016-17 (30).
In all competitions, Leverkusen’s unbeaten run stretches to 51 matches, as they aim to finish an unbeaten season with a treble.
Kane injury doubt for England Euro 2024 squad
Harry Kane may be a doubt for England’s Euro 2024 squad as he continues to struggle with a back problem.
Gareth Southgate is due to name his preliminary squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, ahead of upcoming friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
The England captain missed the final two Bundesliga games of the season after going off towards the end of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed prior to their final match against Hoffenheim that Kane was back in England to undergo treatment.
When later asked again about the nature of the striker’s injury, Tuchel admitted that Kane had been struggling for a couple of weeks.
"In Madrid, it was borderline. We tried injections and treatments. The back has completely closed.
"It has gotten worse and kept breaking out in small, everyday movements. There's no chance he's even training."
Kane scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign for Bayern, though due to the injury, he finished five adrift of Robert Lewandowski’s single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20.
The final announcement of Southgate's 26-man squad will be revealed on June 7, ahead of the tournament opener against Serbia on June 16.
Pochettino prioritising continuity as Chelsea draw up transfer plans
Mauricio Pochettino feels continuity will be key for Chelsea ahead of his second season in charge, ruling out the prospect of another clear-out at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea clinched European qualification on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday, a 2-1 win over Bournemouth ensuring they beat Newcastle United and Manchester United to sixth place.
The Blues finished the campaign with five straight victories, the first time they have achieved that feat since doing so in March 2022 under Thomas Tuchel.
A positive end to Pochettino's debut campaign has quietened talk of his job being under threat, and he wants to see evolution rather than revolution ahead of 2024-25.
"Does the club need new signings? Always, you can improve," Pochettino said after Sunday's victory.
"They are going to be much better next season because they will have one year of experience, a tough experience.
"That is the advantage of being solid and consistent and not making too many changes.
"Next season, if we keep 80 to 85 per cent of the squad, for sure it is a big step forward because it is about having continuity in the ideas and the knowledge between them. That is important for the club.
"That is a club decision. Like it was from the beginning, we [the coaching staff] are going to be there to help and if not, we are going to do our job."
Chelsea only lost one of their final 15 matches of the Premier League season (nine wins, five draws), with that defeat coming by a 5-0 scoreline at Arsenal in April.
Only Manchester City, Arsenal (16 each) and Liverpool (12) won more Premier League games than Chelsea's 10 between the turn of the year and the end of the campaign, with their total of 43 goals in that time ranking them fifth among all teams in the division.
Chelsea's overall tally of 77 goals in 2023-24 was their third-most in a Premier League season, behind only their title-winning campaigns of 2009-10 (103) and 2016-17 (85).
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