Whatever you want to call it – revamp, rebuild, reconstruction – change is coming to Rangers this summer.
Much of it has already taken place.
Rangers lost five experienced campaigners at the end of their contracts, earning the sum total of £0 in transfers fees in the process, with Philippe Clement having quite the job on his hands this summer.
The Belgian manager could also be set to cut the chord with several others in the club’s first-team squad but one of them has just shown his qualities early on in pre-season.
Dessers scores for Rangers
If you’d have asked Rangers fans whether they’d accept £4.5m for Cyriel Dessers in January, they’d have probably bitten your hand off.
The Ibrox support were initially less than impressed with the Belgian-born Nigerian striker whose inefficiency in front of goal cost the club in the early part of the season.
But as the campaign progressed the hitman begun to win over frustrated supporters with a devastating run of injury problems heaping the pressure on the Ibrox number 9.
Having been open about the ‘abuse’ he suffered at the hands of Rangers fans, it was quite the turnaround for Cyriel Dessers in Scotland.
But now it appears to have been in vain with the striker strongly linked to the Ibrox exit door this summer.
Greek side PAOK are amongst the frontrunners but there are other teams in Europe and Saudi Arabia also monitoring the situation.
With Rangers potentially set to recoup the £4.5m paid for the hitman last summer, now Ibrox supporters are a little less convinced of the sale.
A year on from the move, with that initial Ibrox experience under his belt, it’s a heck of a lot of goals to lose with fans warming to Dessers by the game at the end of the season.
Now the 29-year-old striker has kicked off pre-season as he means to go on, scoring in the club’s first friendly of the new campaign.
Netting alongside another two exit-linked stars, Dessers joined Scott Wright and Todd Cantwell on the scoresheet in a 5-2 win over Hamilton.
The other goals were scored by Ross McCausland and Cole McKinnon.
Up to seven facing Ibrox exits
Rangers have already lost Jon McLaughlin, Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack, John Lundstram and Kemar Roofe this summer.
But it could be just the beginning of sweeping change at the club.
Cyriel Dessers is obviously in discussions over an exit, with Todd Cantwell’s agent confirming that the midfielder has his eye on the exit door this summer.
Scott Wright has been strongly linked to Sheffield Wednesday, whilst rumours persist around captain James Tavernier and vice-captain Connor Goldson.
Dutch striker Sam Lammers has been linked to the likes of AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands whilst Robby McCrorie is expected to move on following the signing of Liam Kelly.
By our count that is as many as another seven exits and the Rangers team who just played against Hamilton could be very different from the one that lines up v Hearts.
