Rangers have been banging their heads against a brick wall this summer speaking to players in the hope that others leave so that they can be signed.
Philippe Clement seemed to suggest that new signings could be on the way and that this week was going to be one seeing a lot of arrivals, however, as yet, nothing has been announced.
Neraysho Kasanwirjo has touched down in Glasgow and completed a medical ahead of his transfer from Feyenoord, however, despite the many links, everything else has gone quiet.
Roko Simic takes surprise move after previous Rangers links
One player on the move who was tipped for big things in 2021 and on Rangers radar was Roko Simic.
The 6ft 3inch tall Croatia Under-21 international was bought by RB Salzburg for £4m as a fresh-faced teenager, however, just three years later and he is heading to the Championship.
The fee? A paltry £1.7m plus £350,000 in add-ons, give or take, given the exchage rate with a 10% sell on fee according to Fabrizio Romano.
With only seven goals in over 50 appearances, Salzburg have decided that they have seen enough despite a fruitful 19 goals in 24 appearances in a loan spell in Austria’s second tier.
He is still young enough to improve and would have been a useful addition at any point over the last few seasons.
His talent has never been in any doubt and has always had his admirers.
Nikica Jelavic described him as ‘one of the greatest talents in Croatian football’ before saying he’s convinced that he will become a ‘world-class striker’ [Scottish Sun].
Meanwhile, Robert Sola, editor of Sportske Novosti in Croatia, has compared Simic to Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland [Voetbal Nieuws].
High praise indeed.
Rangers time running out to find their own Simic deal
These are the deals that Rangers seem to be routinely missing out on who could have been valuable contributors to the first-team and made money further down the line.
It is also the sort of price tag that should be affordable.
Rangers paid more for Hamza Igamane who is yet to even feature in a match day squad.
Simic wouldn’t be the first young player to need to find the right club before fulfilling his potential.
Who would have thought that Rino Gattuso would have been one of the finest defensive midfielders of his generation when he was a raw teen at Rangers?
Not every young player, especially strikers, have a lineal progression like Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe, there is a reason why they have won what they have won and have scored as many goals as they have scored.
It can only be hoped that Nils Koppen still has a trick or two up his sleeve.
