When Rangers announced the appointment of Nils Koppen as the club’s Director of Recruitment, there was hopes this was a step in the right direction.
Ever since the days of Steven Gerrard’s stint in charge of Rangers, the club’s operations in the transfer market have been nothing short of disastrous.
Ross Wilson left Rangers for Nottingham Forest against the backdrop of protests but what the ex-Southampton chief left Nils Koppen is a riot from which we’re still recovering.
Philippe Clement has lambasted Wilson’s contract model, which basically involved letting club assets run down deals, hoping it would light a fire underneath them in order to inspire improved terms.
It’s seen Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Filip Helander, Borna Barisic, John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe all leave for the princely combined sum of £0 over the last 12 months.
But as the Rangers rebuild gets underway, it’s not just the replacing of these aging stars which presents a challenge to Nils Koppen at Ibrox.
Edu discusses Arsenal squad building
Rangers fans of a certain vintage may well remember Brazilian midfielder Edu turning out for North London giants Arsenal during their invincible era.
But now the former Gunners star is the club’s much-heralded sporting director, with Edu helping to transform Arsenal from a team of overpaid underachievers to a young, vibrant, squad of title contenders.
How did he do it? Well, first off it took time.
But it took an acceptance that the status quo at the Emirates was not conducive to squad building success and we suspect these comments might resonate rather loudly at Rangers.
In an interview with Men in Blazers, Edu was quizzed on ‘the art of squad building’ and gave a quite telling response.
“First of all we have to see the age of the player,” said Edu. “Then we have to see the salary of the player. Third you have to see the performance of the player.
“So if you have a player over 26, 27 you need attention. If his salary is high you need attention, but he is performing you can accept.
“And if he’s not performing, you’re dead.
“If you have those three elements and one of them went over 28, you started to be uncomfortable, it’s better to you, move on.
“Because maybe this player is blocking someone younger as an asset to help you.
“When I came into Arsenal, with all my respect, almost everyone was over 26, 27, big salaries, not performing.
“If you have those three elements, which club in the world wants to come here and buy one of our players. No one.”
Rangers challenge set for Koppen
Let’s assume that by ‘performing’ we mean meeting the minimum expectations at each respective club.
With Rangers fans expecting greatest resistance in the face of Celtic’s title dominance, it’s fair to say the Ibrox squad has not been ‘performing’ over the last few seasons.
The comments from Edu ring so true when it comes to Rangers and whilst fans need patience, the Brazilian highlights both the challenge and opportunity for Nils Koppen at Ibrox.
Rangers have to move into a more fluid and active player trading model where signings are young, titles are won, and profits are made.
But first Rangers have had to clear out an entire squad of overpaid players who have not been ‘performing’ at the basic levels required.
All the players who’ve been released over the last 12 months have not delivered on the expectations set on them by the Rangers support.
There are also plenty of others still at the club who fall into that bracket.
The comments from Edu and the subsequent success of Arsenal may well help to put Rangers’ squad struggles into context.
But they also highlight just how big a job it is for Koppen, and how long it might take, to evolve Rangers into the dynamic, youthful team we want to be.
