Philippe Clement has been pretty clear when it comes to Rangers’ previous contract model.
The Ibrox club are currently paying the piper after doling out expensive contracts to middling English Championship players who have perennially underachieved.
It’s led to a dramatic period of downsizing during which Rangers cut the club’s wage bill by £6m in the summer and saw a number of experienced players leave for nothing.
It’s left the Rangers manager hamstrung in the transfer market and Rangers have had to be creative with transfers both in and out of the club.
As Rangers continues to trim the fat, the club has been handed an unlikely boost after two highly-paid Ibrox duds passed a major Premier League audition.
Rangers trio play in Birmingham FA Cup defeat
Rangers loan pair Ben Davies and Kieran Dowell have come incredibly close to a legendary FA Cup upset in the blue of Birmingham City.
The two Ibrox stars are currently out on loan at St Andrews and played the full 90 minutes of the League One club’s FA Cup fourth round clash with Premier League Newcastle United.
In an entertaining cup tie in Birmingham, the Blues took an early lead in the game through Ethan Laird only for Joe Willock and Callum Wilson to flip the game on its head.
Ex-Celtic midfielder Tomoki Iwata drew the Blues level with a stunning strike before half-time and Birmingham might’ve carved out a legendary result had it not been for Willock’s late winner.
The 3-2 defeat sends the English League One leaders out of the FA Cup but will give Rangers encouragement when it comes to potential permanent deals for both players.
Birmingham have shown a willingness to sign players permanently from Ibrox recently too.
Winger Scott Wright joined Chris Davies’ side in the summer and also started against the Magpies.
Rangers looking to shift £2.2m Birmingham duo
Rangers have been desperate to ship out several high earners in the last two windows and have successfully got a number of players off the wage bill.
John Lundstram, Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe left at the end of their contracts, whilst Connor Goldson soon followed them later in the window.
Rangers then shipped out the likes of Sam Lammers and Todd Cantwell, recouping only £800k in transfer fees such was the scale of their high-paying contracts.
Ben Davies is the perhaps the perfect example of Rangers’ recent wrong turns in the market, the Gers shelling out an initial £3m to sign the defender from Liverpool.
The former Preston centre-back has done little to justify his £1.4m per year contract (£27k per week) since.
Rangers continued their reshaping of the Ibrox squad this January with the likes of Rabbi Matondo and Kieran Dowell heading up the departures.
With Dowell also doing little to justify his £830k per annum contract (£16k per week) at Rangers, the Gers will hope the midfielder can earn a summer move to St Andrews.
Between them both Davies and Dowell have put a £2.2m burden on the Rangers wage bill and let’s hope Birmingham can earn promotion before taking them on permanently this summer.
