Mark Warburton handed Vladislavs Gutkovskis a trial at Rangers back in 2016 after the Latvian impressed during his time at Skonto Riga.
The 27-year-old was given an opportunity to show off his talents at Ibrox as the likes of John Eustace, Philippe Senderos and Andy Halliday underwent trials with the Gers.
Eventually – despite Gutkovskis telling the Daily Record that he would love to join Rangers – Warburton decided not to offer the striker a contract after taking a look at him.
So, let’s see how the Latvia international has fared since that decision was made.
How Gutkovskis has performed since Rangers snub
Well, Gutkovskis eventually secured a move to Termalica Nieciecza in Poland.
He scored 33 goals in 112 appearances for the Polish side, earning a first call-up to the Latvia national team in 2016 as a result of his efforts.
Gutkovskis has since won 41 caps for his country, scoring 11 goals.
The Rangers reject then sealed a move up the Polish footballing ladder when joining Raków in 2020, where he still plays to this day.
So far, Gutkovskis has scored 33 goals in 108 appearances for Raków – a marginally better strike rate than his time at Termalica Nieciecza.
Therefore, he has netted 66 goals in 220 appearances at club level since Rangers rejected the chance to sign him, which is a respectable record, but not the greatest given the level he has been playing at – with all due respect.
As a result, we feel it would be fair to say that Warburton was right to turn Gutkovskis down, as the striker has hardly pulled up any trees since his failed trial in Glasgow.
Nevertheless, the Latvian has still forged a decent career for himself in Polish football as well as on the international scene, and he can be proud of what he has achieved so far in the game.
