Many believe Giovanni van Bronckhorst has every right to feel aggrieved with how he was backed in the transfer market at Rangers.
The Dutchman guided the club to a Europa League Final and the Champions League group stages but the Ibrox side failed to deliver on many of the ex-Gers midfielder’s top targets.
Rangers’ interest in a number of Dutch talents during Van Bronckhorst’s tenure is well documented, with a failure to add quality ahead of the 22/23 Champions League campaign having devastating consequences.
One name who might’ve changed all that the final moments of that summer’s transfer window is Brazilian playmaker Evander.
Gio might’ve thought the then FC Midtjylland star was a suitable reward for Rangers’ miraculous progress on the European stage.
But two years on from the Ibrox side missing out on the Brazilian forward, the Gers’ loss is very much the Portland Timbers’ gain as Evander takes the MLS by storm.
Rangers-linked Evander tearing up the MLS
Rangers fans will remember that high-profile reported pursuit of Evander in the summer of 2022.
With expectations that Rangers would reinforce the squad under Van Bronckhorst’s Champions League watch, ESPN journalist Gustavo Hofman linked the Gers to the Brazilian.
With Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen also linked, Evander stayed put in Denmark and Rangers ended the window without adding the necessary quality.
Six months later and Evander wound up signing for Portland Timbers in a deal worth a reported $10m (£8.2m).
And what a signing the talented 26-year-old is now proving to be.
Netting a stunning free-kick effort in off the bar in the eventual 3-3 draw with Real Salt Lake over the weekend, it brought Evander’s goal tally to 15 for the MLS season.
But that only tells part of the story, with the Brazilian also laying on another 14 assists for his teammates in an astonishing return of 29 goal contributions in 25 MLS games.
Van Bronckhorst’s Rangers transfer failure
There’s perhaps a couple of things to learn from Rangers’ transfer operations during the era of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
With the recruitment handled by sporting director Ross Wilson, Rangers favoured big deals for high-profile players south of the border over emerging talents in Europe.
But that wasn’t for the want of trying.
It’s since came to light that Rangers tried, and failed, to sign the likes of Xavi Simons, Ian Maatsen and Tijani Reijnders under the Dutch manager.
Throw Evander into the mix and given the types of fees and the profiles surrounding these players, they are ambitious targets who would’ve taken quite a bit of work to pull off.
Whilst it’s hard to argue against an endemic failure to back Van Bronckhorst in the face of Ange Postecoglou’s heavy spending, at the same time Rangers appeared over ambitious in the market and it came back to bite them.
Given Evander wound up moving to the USA for around £8.2m, it’s a fee that Rangers are currently in no position to pay for any player.
But whilst the MLS hasn’t exactly proven a happy hunting ground for the Rangers recruitment team recently, Evander might just have been worth it.
