Ben Davies has officially completed his move to Birmingham City – and another Rangers star could be about to follow him out the exit door!
The Gers have sanctioned a season-long loan deal which will see the former Liverpool defender join the US-billionaire backed Blues until the end of the season.
The hope will be that Ben Davies leaves a big impression on the promotion-chasing League One club and that they stump up for a permanent signing come the end of the campaign.
Whilst there’s no mention of a purchase option, Davies’ exit will free up substantial wages in the squad as Philippe Clement ramps up his transfer activity.
And Rangers could be in line for another boost to the club’s coffers in the coming days as one club step up their interest in Ianis Hagi.
Rangers free up Ben Davies fortune from wage bill
Philippe Clement has spoken openly about the need to reduce Rangers’ super-inflated wage bill this summer.
The Gers have already seen a number of high-earners leave the club and Ben Davies becomes the latest name to help rebalance the scales at Ibrox.
The switch to Birmingham City brings to an end what has been a very underwhelming two years at Ibrox for Davies, who has struggled with the weight of expectation at the Glasgow club.
A highly-rated centre-back from his days with Preston North End, Davies earned a move to Liverpool but failed to make a single appearance in 18 months at Anfield.
In a transfer which sums up the disastrous use of resources under the latter reign of Ross Wilson, Rangers signed a £3m rising to £4m deal to bring Davies to Ibrox in 2022.
Since then, Ben Davies has pound-for-pound represented one of the most ill-judged signings of the modern era with injuries and a lack of consistency denting his Ibrox reputation.
Rangers also stand to save around £26k per week on Davies’s wages (Salary Sport). That’s around £1.4m per season.
Ianis Hagi gets offer to continue Ibrox exodus
Following the departure of Ben Davies, there could be another name set to quickly follow the defender out of the Ibrox exit door.
Romanian outfit Rapid Bucharest are set to ramp up their interest in Rangers playmaker Ianis Hagi in an attempt to convince the 25-year-old to move back to his homeland.
According to Romanian outlet Sport, Rapid have offered Ianis Hagi a contract of €30k per month, a deal which would make him the highest paid player at the club.
That’s around €500k (£425k) per year but that’s less than half the €1.3m (£1.1m) per season Ianis Hagi makes at Rangers.
It remains unclear if it’s a proposal that Hagi would like to take up but the Gers can thank Michael Beale for striking a deal with Ianis earlier in his Ibrox career.
The ex-Gers manager handed the Romanian playmaker a new three-year contract heading into last summer only to send the midfielder out on loan to Alavés in Spain.
