Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst faces a massively important six-month spell as he prepares to tie down some of the club’s finest talents to new contracts.
Although there are members of the first team who can leave for free next summer, including Scott Arfield, Steven Davis, and Allan McGregor, this is not the only problem the Dutchman has.
Many of Rangers’ finest talents have only 18 months left on their current deals.
Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Joe Aribo, Ryan Jack, and Filip Helander were all vital to the club’s success last season as we won our 55th league title.
Van Bronckhorst will surely be starting talks with at least a few of these players over the next few months and gauging who he wants to keep for the long term or who will reach peak market value in the summer.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of Scottish football, Rangers will now always find themselves in a position of being a selling club.
Celtic have sold some of their finest talents such as Moussa Dembélé and Kieran Tierney over the past few years to balance the books and make up for a lack of Champions League football, the reality is Rangers will have to do the same, and soon.
The current situation could be different come next summer if the club manages to win the title and qualify for the Champions League group stages, which could guarantee us a financial windfall and offset any potential player sales.
Van Bronckhorst has a challenge on his hands, players naturally want to play in the biggest competitions hence why this season is so important.
If the manager can get these prized assets tied down to long-term deals, we will have a greater chance of success.
With the strong start that the Dutchman has had, it could be an easier task than people think.
As well as securing first-team players down to longer deals, the manager might need to have a major think over a few youngsters.