In the summer of 2022, Rangers could have signed Danilo from Ajax and saved themselves a lot of money in the process.
Money wasn’t an issue because he was a free agent when Feyenoord signed him, and there was also no doubting his quality by the way that he came through the youth ranks.
What makes it more frustrating is that Rangers had a Dutch manager at the time whose assistant manager knew exactly what Danilo could offer.
Rangers could have had Danilo a year earlier
Dave Vos was the Under-17 manager at Ajax when Danilo first arrived in the Netherlands from Brazil.
He was then the Under-21 team’s assistant manager during the time that the Rangers striker was progressing through into the first team.
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With 16 goals in 19 games for the Under-19s and 31 goals in 51 games for the Under-21s, Danilo should have been a name that Vos remembered to keep an eye on.
It only makes matters worse when you consider the 17 goals in 34 games that the 24-year old scored at senior level for Twente in the Eredivisie.
This was a player that Vos had played a key role in helping to develop and would have been involved in countless decisions over his progress.
So, when Rangers decided that they were looking for a striker in 2022, why didn’t Dave Vos bring Danilo’s name to the table?
It was always a source of puzzlement that Giovanni van Bronckhorst never signed any players from the Eredivisie during his time as Rangers boss.
Ironically, we have now seen an influx of players with experience in the Netherlands including the entire front three that started against Livingston.
If Rangers are to have a totally effective player trading model, players like Danilo have to be signed when they are free.
The budget is too tight to be spending £6m every time a new player is needed.