That thumping sound you might have heard last Friday at 11pm on the dot was the sound of transfer windows closing throughout the United Kingdom.
Rangers managed to get both Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Nedim Bajrami through the door before the deadline passed, while a proposed loan move for Southampton winger Sam Edozie fell through.
Edozie had slipped down the pecking order at St Mary’s. A short-term departure seemingly his best hope of playing regular first-team football in 2024/25.
Fortunately, Anderlecht would come to his rescue, the Belgian window running until September 6th.
Clubs based in Turkey, meanwhile, are still free to sign players up until September 13th. It has become something of an annual tradition too, Super Lig clubs hoovering up lost talent facing a choice between a fresh start in Turkey or months on the sidelines elsewhere in Europe.
Take Josip Brekalo, for instance.
Rangers chose Nedim Bajrami over Josip Brekalo
Tuttomercatoweb reported last week that Rangers had emerged as one of the favourites to bring an end to Brekalo’s difficult spell at Fiorentina.
By the time the clock struck eleven, however, the Croatia international had been snapped up neither by Rangers or Serie A newcomers Venezia.
Just to add to his frustrations, Brekalo was then left out of Fiorentina’s squad for Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Monza. After returning from a loan spell at Hajduk Split, Brekalo had not played a single minute of football for La Viola.
The one-time Wolfsburg winger finds himself in a similar position to Edozie, then, with a similar decision to make.
Either leave on loan, to one of the club’s still free to sign new players, or risk gathering dust on the sidelines until the New Year at the earliest.
While it was Anderlecht who offered Edozie an escape route, Kasimpasa could be the ones to help out Brekalo in his our of need.
Takvim report that Kasimpasa have made ‘great progress’ in their attempts to sign Brekalo and Fiorentina team-mate Antonin Barak on an initial loan deal. Negotiations are reportedly at the ‘final stages’ with both players.
Philippe Clement happy with big Ibrox rebuild
Rangers, meanwhile, will hope that Rabbi Matondo and the aforementioned Bajrami – a stylish attacking midfielder with ‘great technique’ – can fulfil those left-wing duties over the coming months.
Bajrami, a £3.5 million signing from Sassuolo, became Rangers’ tenth and final signing of a hectic summer when he put pen to paper on a three-year deal with the Glasgow giants.
“These have been really busy months and weeks,” Ibrox boss Philippe Clement says via Rangers’ official YouTube channel. “I spoke about it at the end of last season. It was the end of a cycle at the club. I don’t think everybody realised truly what I was talking about.
“You had a squad where a lot of players were into their 30s, would not progress any more, would not become any better than they were. You also had players who were at the end of a contract and were going to leave the club.”
Connor Goldson, Ryan Jack, John Lundstram and Borna Barisic are among those who departed, the latter duo joining Trabzonspor and potentially going head-to-head with Brekalo later this term.
“There are 16 players from last season’s squad who are not here anymore,” Clement added. “And there is still a possibility – not around players who are in the squad training, but from players who are not training with the squad – that they will still leave the club now.
“That’s a lot, that’s for sure an end of a cycle. It was also in staff that we had to make some changes to what we did. It’s a massive rebuild.
“We looked at four layers in that way, to get experienced players in the building; like the (Robin) Proppers, the Cernys, the Liam Kellys, and those kind of players, and now with Bajrami also.
“We were looking for high potential young players who could step in short term to do directly the job, but who could also be added value for the future. You can say (Mohamed) Diomande, (Oscar) Cortes, Conor Barron, Jefte.
“Then the young potentials who are more for the long term. And then also to give more chances to academy players.”
