Rangers will be looking to bring new faces to Ibrox this summer.
Rangers are still fighting for second place in the Scottish Premiership this season, but will already have one eye on how they can improve next term and attempt to chase down Celtic.
The Gers must make a decision on the future of interim boss Graeme Murty, and with new signings needed to boost the Ibrox squad, here is a five-point plan for how Rangers can attack the summer transfer window.
1. Make decisions on loan players
Rangers were busy in January, but many of their signings were brought in on loan. Russell Martin, Sean Goss, Jamie Murphy and Jason Cummings were all brought in on loan from English clubs, and Rangers must now decide whether to snap them up permanently. Murphy appears to be all but done, and Cummings should be pursued to support Alfredo Morelos, but whether veteran Martin is signed or whether QPR will sell Goss remain to be seen.
2. Back the manager again, no matter who it is
Last summer, Dave King and co backed then-managed Pedro Caixinha with a host of signings, splashing the cash in a bid to give the manager who he wanted in order to chase down Celtic. That somewhat backfired, but it shouldn’t deter King from investing major money in the Rangers squad. The Gers need clever additions to catch Celtic, and King must be prepared to pay for them this summer despite last summer’s disaster.
3. Continue to buy home-grown
Rangers’ January business saw them prioritise Scottish players, as Martin, Murphy, Cummings and Greg Docherty all arrived, bringing a real identity back to the club. After snapping up a whole host of Mexican and Portuguese players under Caixinha, fans may now want to see Scottish players focused on again, with boyhood Rangers fans such as James McArthur and Oliver McBurnie two players who should be on the club’s radar.
4. Offload Warburton’s and Caixinha’s flops
As mentioned, former boss Caixinha was given the opportunity to bring in his own players, but that has largely left Rangers with a host of players who aren’t exactly Murty’s first choices. Bruno Alves, Fabio Cardoso and Eduardo Herrera have all failed to live up to expectations and can surely leave if the right offer comes in, whilst players signed by Mark Warburton – such as Joe Dodoo, Lee Hodson, Jak Alnwick and Michael O’Halloran – could also be primed for the chopping block.
5. Keep David Bates
Rangers have tied Wes Foderingham and James Tavernier down to new contracts recently, but the priority must now be to make sure David Bates doesn’t walk away this summer. The 21-year-old, a signing from Raith Rovers in 2016, has developed into a key defender for Rangers, and looks set for international honours in the not-too-distant future. With his contract expiring this summer, Rangers simply cannot afford to let him go and head down to England, in which case Rangers would receive nominal compensation.
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