Rangers’ flailing transfer business has been the main topic of conversation ever since the transfer window slammed shut and even more so in the wake of the Celtic Park hammering.
Gers fans were left astounded when the Ibrox board failed to reinvest any of the club’s Champions League cash in a playing squad decimated by injury and in need of a refresh.
Only John Lundstram has added any sustained quality to the first XI out of the last three windows and Ross Wilson and co stand accused of penny pinching and negligence.
But that doesn’t mean Rangers haven’t invested, with the club spending a reported £12.8m in new players this summer.
Antonio Colak (£1.8m), Tom Lawrence (free) and Malik Tillman (loan) stand as early success stories but the jury remains out on the other four.
So far John Souttar (free), Ridvan Yilmaz (£5m), Ben Davies (£4m) and Rabbi Matondo (£2m) have failed to make any sort of impression with Souttar, Yilmaz, Davies and now Lawrence all on the treatment table.
It’s a quite stunning turn of events and when you consider the club could rake in up to £49m from three transfers out of the side in the last three months then van Bronckhorst, Wilson and the Ibrox board deserve every bit of criticism that’s coming their way.
The departures of Nathan Patterson (£16m), Joe Aribo (£10m) and Calvin Bassey (£23m) appear to have weakened the side and the money has – as of yet – not proven to have been effectively reinvested.
That’s before we talk about the run to the Europa League Final and Champions League qualification, or the increase in commercial revenue that has see us sign umpteen partnership deals in the last few seasons.
Or the season tickets, or MyGers, or the millionth Castore training range.
Veerman and Skov Olsen on fire since Rangers links
This also comes after Rangers missed out on high-profile reported targets such as Joey Veerman during his time at Heerenveen and Andreas Skov Olsen whilst he was Bologna.
Both ended up moving elsewhere, with Veerman joining PSV in a £5m deal and Skov Olsen leaving for Club Brugge amid reports of the same fee.
Both have since been lighting up their respective sides, with Joey Veerman now a key player for PSV Eindhoven, netting 10 goals from 33 games in their midfield since January.
The 22-year-old midfielder has four this season already.
Andreas Skov Olsen is another who was extensively linked to Rangers in January and who since moving elsewhere has been a revelation.
Yes that’s right, the winger has 22 goal contributions in 25 games whilst Rangers winger Ryan Kent hasn’t scored in the Premiership since November 2021.
Granted, any football club can miss out on players for whatever reason but here are two examples of seemingly attainable stars we failed to bring to the club.
Technically, Rangers have since spent more on Yilmaz, Davies and Matondo than they could’ve spent on these two.
Last summer was a bad joke. The January was a tragedy. But this summer is looking increasingly like a negligent farce that could descend to protest level if the club’s domestic slide fails to halt.
Meanwhile, Rangers have been placed on a special UEFA watchlist alongside the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona.