Rangers fans have been given a big boost amid fears of major departures at Ibrox.
Since the Gers’ shock Champions League qualifying exit at the hands of Malmo on Tuesday night, many pundits and journalists have asserted that the club will have to sell players.
It’s something that key figures like former chairman Dave King and current managing director Stewart Robertson have previously alluded to [BBC Sport].
That doesn’t make the prospect of losing key assets any less concerning for supporters, though, given that the general consensus is that there may be a need to add quality to the squad if the Premiership title is to be successfully defended.
On Thursday afternoon, Steven Gerrard addressed the media in a press conference and the main takeaways seem to have been his admissions that every player has his price and that the Champions League elimination will have an impact on transfer business at some point down the line [Glasgow Times].
Neither of those comments were earthshattering, though.
Gerrard has made the ‘every player has his price’ point consistently during his time in the role without a major player ever actually leaving, while it’s obvious that missing out on the financial boost of the Champions League constitutes a big blow.
As far as we’re concerned, though, there were positives to take from the manager’s presser.
Firstly, he made it clear that he has had no communication from the board since the Malmo defeat to inform him of a specific plan to sell key men, which suggests that there’s no urgent financial pressure.
Secondly, and crucially, he said that no formal offers have arrived for any players other than former fringe men George Edmundson and Jordan Jones, who have already been sold.
There’s been plenty of speculation about Alfredo Morelos, Glen Kamara and Ryan Kent, but they won’t be going anywhere unless clubs stump up big fees.
Things move quickly in football these days but it’s a big boost for supporters to learn that with deadline day just over two weeks away, no key men are even vaguely close to leaving the club.
Pundits can make claims about the current financial situation at Ibrox, but Rangers still potentially have significant amounts of prize money to earn this season if they can make it to the Europa League proper and while the club can’t run at a loss forever, the chances of multiple major departures this summer reduce with each passing day.
The Light Blues are looking to get back to winning ways on Friday night against Dunfermline in the Premier Sports Cup and here’s our Predicted XI for the tie.
