It’s no exaggeration to suggest that the upcoming transfer window may be the most important in Rangers’ recent history.
Get it wrong and the gap between themselves and a rapidly-improving Celtic side may become a chasm. Get it right, however, and two-horse title races could become the norm again in Scotland.
Seven of the 11 players who started for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side during Sunday’s 2-1 Old Firm derby defeat to Celtic are due to leave the Glasgow giants either this summer or next.
The same can be said of Amad Diallo, Filip Helander, Steven Davis, Scott Arfield and injured talisman Alfredo Morelos.
Van Bronckhorst, in conjunction with sporting director Ross Wilson, have some difficult decisions to make.
McGregor (40) and Davis (37) are still capable of rolling back the years but their form has certainly dipped since last season’s title win. Even they cannot defy Father Time forever.
Furthermore, can Rangers really afford to let Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo, Helander, Ryan Jack and Morelos enter the final 12 months of their contracts? Especially if they miss out on Champions League qualification, and the riches that brings?
Incomings and outgoings at Ibrox
At least Rangers have laid the groundwork for the departures of centre-back duo Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun. Scotland international John Souttar has already agreed to join from Hearts.
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Danilho Doekhi, meanwhile, confirmed recently that Rangers are ‘watching’ him closely, with the Vitesse Arnhem captain set to become a free-agent in July.
Martin Fraisl, the divisive Schalke shot-stopper, will also be available for free this summer. According to Spox, the 28-year-old Austrian has been offered a two-year deal at Ibrox.
Fraisl certainly seems more attainable at present than Sam Johnstone and Benjamin Siegrist, both of whom have Premier League admirers.
Furthermore, according to Planet Sport, there is a ‘good chance’ that Aaron Ramsey – scorer of the opening goal against Celtic – will stay at Ibrox following the expiration of his Juventus loan deal.
Morelos and Kent may be the most difficult players to replace – should it come to that – but Rangers may already be preparing for a worst-case scenario with a pair of highly exciting transfer targets.
The Gers made a £5 million bid for Bologna’s Andreas Skov Olsen in January (Il Resto Carlino). And he’s been in stunning form since joining Club Brugge on loan, producing four goals and six assists in seven games.
If Rangers are willing to up their bid to £7 million, Bologna won’t stand in the Dane’s way. Selling a Kent, a Helander, an Aribo or a Morelos – the Colombian recently changed his agent ahead of a potential summer exit – would be enough to fund Skov Olsen’s arrival.
Life without Morelos
Rangers are also big admirers of Crysencio Summerville, the Leeds United whizzkid who played for Feyenoord’s youth sides during Van Bronckhorst’s time at De Kuip (Mail).
Rangers, as they did with Kent a couple of years ago, could offer Summerville the kind of regular first-team football that may be difficult to obtain south of the border.
Skov Olsen and Summerville, who scored a hat-trick for Leeds U23s on Monday, could go a long way to replacing the goals Rangers will lose should Morelos get a dream move to England.
Rangers have shown an interest in Hibernian’s Kevin Nisbet in the past but a deal for the Scotland poacher looks unlikely now, especially after he suffered a serious injury.
Nisbet, after all, was more of a Steven Gerrard target than he was a Wilson one.
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