Unless things take a drastic change, Rangers will not be spending a fortune under Philippe Clement this summer and that being smart with the budget is key to future success.
In January, we saw three different deals in the new arrivals and, when the transfer window opens, a similar degree of flexibility will be needed by the manager as he looks to rebuild his squad.
What Rangers won’t want to do is repeat the mistakes that were made when Michael Beale was given money to spend that has made Philippe Clement and Nils Koppen’s task a difficult one.
READ MORE: Rangers all-time record transfer sales including whopping £20m departure
Rangers heading in a new direction under Philippe Clement
Any player trading model has to be based on one of two things:
- Buying young players who can be developed and sold.
- Developing your own players.
At the moment, Rangers aren’t getting either of the two right.
Players like Joe Aribo, Calvin Bassey and Glen Kamara are great examples of how it should be done.
The three, signed for around £600,000 combined, could bring in nearly £40million if all of their clauses are achieved.
Nathan Patterson is the best example of what can happen when youth is given a chance and players from Auchenhowie make the step up.
Speaking in January, Philippe Clement made it clear that he wants to see a new approach at Rangers:
“I know that we are not the most wealthy club in the world. We want to get transfers in that can have an impact now but also can have added value for the next couple of years on the field and selling them for bigger amounts.
“If you look at the last couple of years, this is one thing that the club has missed. They didn’t have big outgoing transfers and because of that, not getting money in to do other things.
“That is one of the targets, strange as it is for a manager to talk about that but I want to help in that way so the club can grow in every sense.”
Where Rangers went wrong in 2023
The perfect example of what Clement is talking about lies in the players who arrived in 2023, especially during the summer.
Players like Nicolas Raskin, Todd Cantwell, Danilo and Dujon Sterling could well go on to make Rangers a few pounds but there was a lot of wastage too.
Rangers were linked with teenage Serbian Petar Ratkov.
The towering striker had made a hugely impressive breakthrough season and displayed an all-round game that saw RB Salzburg seal a deal in the region of £4.2m – remember the last gangly teen striker to impress with the Austrians?
We were also linked with Nikola Krstovic, the Montenegro international who has since been linked with some of the best sides in Serie A and Man Utd after impressing at Lecce.
His fee? A reported £3.2m.
Two players who could have been signed by Rangers as they looked to make the step up to bigger clubs.
Two players destined for bigger things and bigger transfer fees.
Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers could well be sold this summer and finding the next Ratkov or Krstovic has to be near the top of the shopping list if we are to learn the lessons of the recent past.
