Rangers are still in the midst of trying to reshape the club’s wage bill after years of risky investments in overpaid players who have not delivered at Ibrox.
This summer saw Rangers slash the club’s wage bill by a remarkable £6m per annum and that cost cutting is expected to continue as 49ers Enterprises take charge.
As Rangers hunt for a new sporting director it will be their job to restructure the club’s spending to a more sustainable and ultimately profitable model.
Gone are the days of heavy investment in English Championship players with Rangers moving towards more youthful, globally-minded transfer model.
Heading into the summer, the club’s prospective new director football has been handed an almighty boost as two of the Ibrox club’s highest-paid players achieve promotion with their loan club.
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Rangers duo earn promotion with Birmingham City
Birmingham City did Rangers a favour in many ways this season when they took on several of the Ibrox club’s fringe players.
The Blues, who are managed by ex-Celtic boss Chris Davies, first agreed a permanent deal to bring Scott Wright to St Andrews.
But the decision to take Ben Davies on loan has been crucial to the club’s promotion hopes, with Birmingham City now set to play in the English Championship next season.
It comes after Birmingham defeated Peterborough 2-1 at London Road, a result which guarantees the Blues automatic promotion to English football’s second tier next season.
Davies isn’t the only Rangers star currently on loan at Birmingham either, with Kieran Dowell joining the Blues mid-season and making a big impression in League One.
Whilst neither were involved in the win over Peterborough, both Rangers loanees have been effective players for Birmingham this season and should return for the EFL Trophy Final against the Posh at Wembley this weekend.
Birmingham City are backed by a US consortium headed by American billionaire Tom Wagner with NFL legend Tom Brady a minority investor.
What’s been said about Ben Davies and Kieran Dowell moving to Birmingham permanently
The news obviously hands Rangers a boost as they look to ship both Ben Davies and Kieran Dowell out permanently this summer.
Davies’ Rangers contract is reportedly worth around £27k per week or £1.4m per annum (Salary Sport), making him one of the club’s highest paid players.
Speaking at the end of March amid the transfer speculation, Davies said: “I’m happy with how it’s going here but I’ll think about that and consider all my options in the summer.
“I’m going to work here till the summer then see what my agent says. I’m really enjoying it here so if the opportunity arose I’d consider it seriously.“
Rangers would demand a fee for 29-year-old Davies, who joined the Ibrox side on a £3m rising to £4m deal from Liverpool in 2022.
Dowell makes slightly less but is still on a not inconsiderable £16k per week or £830k per annum to contribute next to nothing at Ibrox (Salary Sport).
Birmingham City manager Chris Davies told Birmingham Live he is eager to sign Dowell permanently after an impressive loan spell down south
“He’s definitely someone I have been really encouraged by since he’s come in and from my point of view I want players like that here,” Davies said.
“My communication is always around that stuff with Craig (Gardner – director of football), squad management and planning and who I think can really help us, and I think Kieran has done really well.
“I don’t know the exact context of what’s happening there with him, but it’s definitely something we will have to look into.”
Rangers signed Dowell on a free in 2023 after the midfielder’s contract expired at Norwich City.
The Gers will hope to recoup a small fee for both players but the real bonus will be in freeing up around £2.2m from the clubs annual wage bill.
