The vultures are circling around QPR's Charlie Austin this transfer window and the Hoops will have to have a contingency plan if their star striker leaves.
The 26-year-old is attracting interest from Newcastle, Bournemouth and Aston Villa to name but a few and Director of Football Les Ferdinand has not ruled out a possible move away from Loftus Road this transfer window.
If the Englishman were to leave for pastures new this January, who will Tony Fernandes get the chequebook out for in a bid to replace him?
Forwards don’t come cheap, as suitors for Austin have found out, but you need to pay the big bucks if you want a guaranteed supply of goals from your forward.
Here is our pick of three players Rangers could turn to if Austin were to head elsewhere during the January transfer window.
Dwight Gayle - Crystal Palace
QPR were linked to the Eagles striker last summer and are set reignite their interest if talisman Austin was to leave.
The 25-year-old has only made seven league appearances for the London club this season and could be available for around £5m, although GetWestLondon understands a loan deal is the likelier move.
The forward scored five goals last season and has attracted interest from Newcastle, Norwich and Derby - with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink an admirer of the Palace man.
If a deal was struck between the London sides, it could see Rangers centre-back Steven Caulker go the other way.
The 24-year-old has struggled for matches during his loan spell at Southampton and a move to the Eagles could be attractive to both player and club if Gayle's services were involved in negotiations.
Jordan Rhodes - Blackburn Rovers
Rhodes was linked with a £10m move to Middlesbrough earlier in the transfer window, but nothing yet has come to fruition.
The 25-year-old moved to Ewood Park from Huddersfield Town in 2011 for a reported £8m and has gone on to score 82 goals in 149 appearances for Rovers.
The Scotland international is a proven goalscorer at Championship level and could be the ideal man to replace Austin.
The former Terrier has nine goals in the league this season - one less than Austin - and boasts a higher shooting accuracy.
If Austin were to go it could fund the purchase of Rhodes, but Rangers will have to move quickly to pick up the talented forward.
Emmanuel Adebayor - Free agent
Adebayor has been a free agent since September, despite having scored 18 goals in 27 appearances for Tottenham.
The Togo striker had been linked to a loan move to Loftus Road last January, but the transfer did not happen as the player was unwilling to make the trip across London.
The situation is different now however. With the striker being unattached for months, the prospect of playing first team football if Austin were to leave may be too attractive to refuse.
Adebayor has undeniable quality - being voted African Player of the Year in 2008 - but would not come cheap, with Rangers last year offering as much as £75,000 per week to secure the 6'3" goalscorer.
If the R's star striker leaves in January, Adebayor could be an ideal replacement, but Fernandes would be gambling on a famously hit-and-miss centre-forward.
