Rangers director Ross Wilson has claimed at the Gers’ AGM that the club narrowly missed out on a Dutch player under Giovanni van Bronckhorst; could it have been Danilho Doekhi or Xavi Simons?
The Gers sporting director and recruitment guru was being quizzed by shareholders at the Rangers AGM and was asked by one supporter why the club hadn’t signed any Dutch players under the previous Dutch management team.
When managers of a certain country come into a new club it is often customary for them to sign players from their home countries; see the Rangers signing of Giovanni van Bronckhorst himself under Dick Advocaat.
But as Gio and his staff leave Rangers, the Gers didn’t sign a single Dutchman under his watch and its had some questioning the club’s recruitment.
In a spiky AGM, Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson once again reiterated that the manager has final say on signings whilst claiming the club agreed terms with one Dutch star before he moved elsewhere.
The shareholder asked: “We brought in a Dutch management team but why did we not bring in a single Dutch player?”
Ross Wilson responded: “The manager has the final day on transfers and every player that comes in. We agreed terms with one Dutch player who then choose another club.”
Who is the Dutch player mentioned at Rangers’ AGM?
It’s led to some discussion regarding who that Dutch player might be with two in particular springing to mind from Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s tenure.
Danilho Doekhi was linked with a move to Rangers last season during his time with Vitesse Arnhem, but eventually chose to move to Bundesliga club Union Berlin.
Xavi Simons – a product of Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy – also moved to PSV Eindhoven in the summer following three years with PSG.
Both players come with decent pedigree in the Netherlands and certainly would’ve added some Dutch flavour to the Rangers squad.
But as the dust settles on the Rangers AGM, was it one of these two players being referred to by Ross Wilson this morning?
Meanwhile, one Rangers record-breaker sits at the centre of an Ibrox transfer conundrum.
