It had been hinted at before but Michael Beale’s revelation that Rangers fans will see a massive rebuild in the summer is a welcome one.
To add quality though, first Rangers will have to sell and without a sporting director, this won’t be an easy task.
We all know about the players who are out of contract, however, it isn’t just as simple as letting them all go. Rangers will have to sell before the 10-12 players that Michael Beale wants can be brought in.
Complications like UEFA home grown quotas and injury histories might see those that would normally be chased hang around for another season.
When asked by Stevie Clifford of the Four Lads Had a Dream blog about potential numbers, the Gers gaffer confirmed that double figures isn’t out of the question – in both directions.
Coming from the same manager who claimed that the squad wasn’t as broken as some might think.
He’s obviously had a change of heart.
Who will leave Rangers as part of Michael Beale’s clear-out?
Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin are the obvious ones to start with. The former has declined massively and the latter will want first team football again.
If you can’t get a game when the man between the sticks isn’t saving anything what chance do you have?
In defence, Ben Davies has been tipped for a quick exit, Filip Helander won’t get a new deal and Borna Barisic has just a year left of his contract. It makes sense to try to sell the Croatian international to bring in much-needed funds when we spent over £3m on Ridvan Yilmaz just last summer.
Hopeully, the young Turk can stay fit for the rest of the season and shows us what he can do.
Midfield is anyone’s guess.
Glen Kamara has hardly kicked a ball in recent weeks, Steven Davis is out of contract and recovering from ACL surgery, Scott Arfield will be 35-years old next season and Ryan Jack can’t stay fit.
Then there is John Lundstram’s form.
Arfield and Jack might get lucky and get extensions purely due to their status as home-grown players and because of the lack of available options in the market.
The forward line that was so incompetent against Celtic needs a major over haul too, unfortunately, only Fashion Sakala will bring any money in, although there might be takers for Scott Wright.
If Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos were to be announced as signing new contracts now there would be uproar but they will leave behind them decent space on the wage bill.
Antonio Colak might not be what we need as a first-choice option but his goal return suggests that he is still a more than suitable backup option, chasing him out the door shouldn’t be a priority.
We could do with freeing up Kemar Roofe’s wages but who is going to buy him? He’s not even managed 90 minutes in total this season having been injured for most of the second half of 2021/22.
So, if my maths is right.
McGregor, McLaughlin, Barisic, Helander, Davies, Davis, Kamara, Lundstram, Sakala, Wright, Kent, Morelos.
There are millions of pounds walking out of the door, however, we could be surprised at how much we are able to bring in for those who still have time left on their respective contracts.
If Aberdeen can get over £2m for Ross McCrorie, I’d certainly be wanting more for players who have played in a European final.
It is a lot of players but, it is also a lot of money off the wage bill.
Going by Salary Sport, around £250,000 per week or a cool £13m a year – give or take.
If you can’t build a decent team with that given who will already be in the dressing room, there is something far wrong.
