Philippe Clement will probably have to sell some of his Rangers players to be able to acquire the sort of budget he will really need for the rebuild required.
There are six players out of contract in the summer and there could be as many as double figures in terms of the total number of players in the squad that could leave.
What the manager won’t be accounting for is players who will be key to Rangers success attracting bids with Jack Butland explaining how close he came to leaving Ibrox in January.
Rangers decision to make if Jack Butland offers role in
Nottingham Forest had a bid rejected for the England international in the winter window, a decision that wouldn’t have taken long to make.
The 30-year old is said to be valued at between £10-15m and, despite his importance to Clement and the club, it would be hard to turn down this sort of offer if it came in, not that Butland is going to be demanding a move any time soon:
“My agent notified me of what was coming in.
“He had heard. The club immediately said, ‘No’. He said, ‘How do you feel about that’. It was a ‘no’ from me as well.
“It didn’t change anything from my side of things. Playing football was all I was thinking about, playing football for an incredible club like this. And ultimately, I just miss playing football.
“I wanted to perform again, and I wanted to show people what I could do. This game it what I love doing. I wanted to play as it is not something I have had the chance to do over the last few years. I guess I am making up for lost time.”
Butland sale is textbook for Rangers player trading
Rangers weren’t taking a gamble by signing Jack Butland even though he hadn’t played consistently for 2-3 years.
All he needed was a run of games to prove that he still has the ability that saw him earn nine England caps.
It also sees him in line for a recall under Gareth Southgate this summer.
This season has shown how important it is to have a good goalkeeper and Butland winning both mens’ player of the year titles was a surprise to nobody.
They don’t grow on trees but it is a position that should be easier to scout for than a winger or central midfielder.
They are also cheaper to buy.
If Rangers get an offer anywhere near Jack Butland’s valuation, he has to be sold.
It doesn’t matter if it is a young player or one in their 30s, the player trading model pillar needs to improve and one way of doing that is to sell players when bids match their price tags – regardless of how important they are.
