Ray Wilkins has criticised Rangers’ summer transfer business.
Former Rangers hero Ray Wilkins has told the Rangers Fans Channel on YouTube that he thinks the Gers should have looked to sign Chelsea youngsters this summer.
Rangers required a major summer overhaul under Pedro Caixinha, and the Portuguese boss hasn’t wasted any time in luring eight new signings to Ibrox.
Portuguese quartet Bruno Alves, Fabio Cardoso, Dalcio and Daniel Candeias have all joined, as have Ryan Jack, Alfredo Morelos and Mexican international duo Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera.
Ray Wilkins
There may yet be more new signings for Rangers as they continue their re-tooling, but whilst fans are generally happy with the work Caixinha has done, not everybody is impressed.
Former Rangers midfielder and current pundit Ray Wilkins has spoken to the Rangers Fans Channel on YouTube, and noted that he doesn’t agree with bringing in Benfica B players.
Instead, Wilkins wanted Rangers to sign young players from Chelsea on loan, giving them valuable first-team experience in a tough, physical league.
“I don’t quite agree with bringing in B players from Benfica, B players from this and B players from that,” said Wilkins. “My way forward would be to take some Chelsea young men up there who aren’t quite getting into the Under-23 side and stick them in there and give them a proper grounding in football.”
“Because up there they will get sorted out quite a bit as well, it’s very physical, the referee is totally different to what it is down in England and I think it would do them a world of good,” he added.
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
Rangers only signed one Benfica B team player, and that was a loan deal for winger Dalcio. It’s understandable why Rangers wouldn’t want to rely heavily on Chelsea loan deals, given that they would end up returning to Stamford Bridge, meaning Rangers would effectively be developing Chelsea’s young players for them with limited long-term reward.
Huddersfield did benefit from having both Kasey Palmer and Izzy Brown on loan from Chelsea, whilst the likes of Tammy Abraham, Lucas Piazon, Lewis Baker and Andreas Christiansen also thrived out on loan last season.
However, Caixinha is attempting to rebuild Rangers for the long-term, signing only one player on loan and focusing on players he knows – and whilst Wilkins may know plenty about the Chelsea youngsters, Caixinha’s current strategy makes much more sense.
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