The winter window was always likely to be quiet one at Rangers.
With funds tight – so tight even that Rangers could not afford the £2.5 million required for Marko Soldo of NK Osijek – the only arrivals were an on-loan Rafael Fernandes and the out-of-contract Lyall Cameron.
Rangers are thinking long-term rather than scouring the market for short-term solutions, saving up their money for the summer. The title has gone, at least this season, but 2025/26 offers a chance for redemption.
As CEO Patrick Stewart and technical director Nils Koppen explained, Rangers brought in Hamza Igamane, Jefte and Connor Barron with future success in mind. Clinton Nsiala, Cameron and Fernandes – all aged between 21 and 22 – also fit into this category.
Findlay Curtis, Paul Nsio and particularly 18-year-old Bailey Rice are expected to have bigger roles next term too. Clement even admitted that Rangers let Kieran Dowell go to give Rice a bigger role in their first-team plans.
Reports in the final week of the window, meanwhile, suggested that Rangers are in pursuit of Spezia centre-back Nicolo Bertola.
Spezia break silence as Rangers join Nicolo Bertola race
An Italy Under-21 international, Bertola is the latest fresh-faced up-and-comer to catch Koppen’s eager eye.
And with Spezia sitting third in Serie B, and well-placed to secure a return to Italy’s top flight, there would have been an almighty sigh of relief at the Stadio Alberto Picco when the deadline passed on Monday and Bertola was still at the disposal of the Aquilotti.
Though sporting director Stefano Melissano, breaking his silence on the defender’s future, insists that there was not a genuine expectation of Bertola departing anyway.
“There has never been any concrete interest in him,” Melissano tells La Nazione. “It won’t be a problem for us because we want to protect our technical project.
“Bertola would have stayed with us [on loan] anyway, even if he were to be sold, because taking a player away from this group was unthinkable.”
On the other side of the coin, with Bertola’s contract expiring in the summer, Spezia have just missed the chance to sell the academy graduate for any sort of sum.
Perhaps Rangers, Inter Milan and Bertola’s growing throng of admirers always planned to make their moves later down the line anyway, in the knowledge that the 6ft 4ins giant could be secured on a free-transfer in the near future.
First-team football can help Rangers fight off Inter Milan and Napoli
Of course, with Scudetto holders Inter already in the race, Rangers may face something of an uphill task. League leaders Napoli have also been linked.
The Glasgow giants managed to convince the likes of Igamane, Nsiala and Rafael Fernandes to sign on the dotted line despite plenty of interest from elsewhere, however, with a move to Ibrox offering a genuine shot at regular, first-team football.
Something neither Inter nor Napoli may be capable of providing.
Igamane rejected Qatari interest for Rangers. Nsiala was linked with clubs in his native France. Rafael Fernandes had offers from Germany and Spain but opted for Ibrox too.
A natural right-footer, it remains to be seen if Rangers see Bertola as someone to come in alongside Fernandes or potentially to replace him. Much will depend on how the Lille loanee adapts, with the Gers boasting the option to turn his temporary deal into a permanent one.
“On a personal level, I’m very happy with how the season is going,” Bertola said after establishing himself in Italy’s Under-21 set-up. “In the national team, I hope to remain part of this group. [I am] working every day to try to improve.
“I feel like I’ve grown in awareness, thanks to the fact that I’ve started playing a lot.”
