Rangers’ transfer dealings are the biggest topic of conversation amongst fans as the winter window not so much slams shut at Ibrox but closes quietly.
The Gers made only one new signing this January with Rafael Fernandes joining the club on a loan-to-buy deal from Ligue 1 outfit Lille.
It was a transfer window instead dominated by exits as Rangers trim the fat from the squad and continue to haul down the club’s inflated wage bill.
Here are the three big positives from Rangers’ mid-season transfer dealings whilst we also assesses three huge negatives.
Rangers reduce wage bill if even temporarily ✔️
Rangers fans might’ve hoped that the club were more active in the market in terms of incomings.
But the Gers have done very well to shift out several overpaid, underperforming players from the fringes of the squad.
Kieran Dowell has moved out on loan to Birmingham City whilst Rabbi Matondo has already made a bright start at Hannover 96.
Both players rake in a combined £2m per annum at Ibrox to either prop up the bench or the club’s medical department and their exits should be welcomed.
Rangers fans can breathe a sigh of relief as both players leave the club and Rangers could even rake in a fee for Matondo come the summer.
But whilst the club’s financial officer will appreciate the spare funds between now and May, Nils Koppen needs to find a way to shift Ben Davies, Kieran Dowell and Rabbi Matondo permanently come the end of the season.
Rangers stay true to their transfer word ✔️
In recent seasons the leadership of Rangers have at times led with their hearts instead of their heads to the club’s immense detriment.
Whilst Rangers’ custodians have meant well, huge contracts doled out to average players have hamstrung the club and resulted in a change of direction this summer.
Heading into the winter, Patrick Stewart was clear that Rangers would only do a deal if it benefitted the Ibrox side long-term.
Gone are the days of short-term loan deals and expensive quick fixes, the likes of Amad Diallo, Aaron Ramsey and Fabio Silva now a thing of the past.
Rangers want to see a potential return on every penny they spend and it’s why Rafael Fernandes has a £2.7m option-to-buy in the deal sign this January.
Rangers have also agreed a pre-contract deal for Dundee star Lyall Cameron, who has been one of the Scottish Premiership’s brightest performers this season.
Nils Koppen claimed that Rangers would be targeting the brightest homegrown talent and the capture of the 22-year-old is evidence the Belgian is a man of his word.
These are two exciting young players who join a youthful squad with burgeoning potential.
Rangers also sent a message that they will not deviate from the plan, even if the pressure mounts amongst fans.
Rangers academy finally set to be tested ✔️
A common gripe amongst Rangers fans concerns the use of the club’s academy and the progression of academy players into the first team.
Rangers have seen the likes of Alex Lowry, Alex Devine and Leon King breakthrough in recent seasons only to regress into the background of the Ibrox squad.
Lowry has since left the club for Wycombe Wanderers whilst Devine has joined Queen’s Park on loan until the end of the season, but there is no doubt their development has stagnated at Ibrox.
This time around Rangers have scrapped the ill-fated B team set-up and have focused on loan deals for their top youngsters.
Robbie Fraser is already impressing at Livingston and is locked in a promotion battle with Cole McKinnon, who is out on loan at Ayr United.
Rangers too insist they’re ready to trust youth with the likes of Bailey Rice, Paul Nsio and Findlay Curtis to replace Kieran Dowell and Rabbi Matondo in the first-team squad.
Nils Koppen and Philippe Clement have previously claimed they will trust the club’s young players and we’re going to see that put to the test in the weeks and months ahead.
Rangers squad stretched in wide areas ✖️
Philippe Clement wants a tight Rangers squad in order to ensure all his players are happy and contributing over the course of a season.
But for a manager who has something of an obsession with matchday loads and minutes played, Rangers are cutting it very fine in the wide areas.
Vaclav Cerny (36 games) has almost equalled the most games he’s played in an entire a season (41 with FC Twente in 22/23) and we’re only just into February.
An injury to the Czech international would threaten to derail the club’s season with young Northern Irishman Ross McCausland the only natural option in behind to cover.
Rangers also lack options at left-wing with Oscar Cortes spending almost the entire season sidelined.
The young Colombian will join permanently for £4m in the summer but Rangers fans are expecting very little from the winger between now and the end of the season.
With Rabbi Matondo also gone, Rangers are light in options out left and have rotated Ianis Hagi and Nedim Bajrami in and out of the position at times this season.
The aforementioned Findlay Curtis is only 18-years-old and fans will have to temper their expectations as a result.
Hamza Igamane has also been employed out left in recent matches amid Cyriel Dessers’ resurgence but the Moroccan has been much less effective.
The lack of a reliable, match-winning left-winger is a glaring deficiency in the squad which the club failed to properly address in January.
Rangers tried with a late bid for Yorbe Vertessen so it was clear the Gers were looking, but nothing materialised.
Zak Lovelace project fails at Rangers ✖️
Whilst Rangers fans could stomach most of the exits out of Ibrox this winter, Zak Lovelace’s return to Millwall leaves something of a bitter taste.
The 19-year-old forward has been one of the most hyped prospects in the Rangers academy in recent years after the club signed Lovelace from Millwall two-and-a-half years ago.
But injuries disrupted the striker’s breakthrough season in Glasgow with Lovelace going off on a stretcher v St Mirren last October and really taking a year to recover.
Perhaps endemic of the B team problem at the club, Rangers struggled to get Lovelace into the team and the striker returns to Millwall after a bout of homesickness.
This was one of English football’s brightest young talents – Lovelace made his debut at the Den as a 15-year-old – and it hasn’t worked out for Rangers.
The club had given Lovelace minutes in recent weeks but it proved too little, too late, as the striker snubbed a Rangers contract offer to head back down south.
The Gers might have banked six-figure compensation but it’ll do little to appease fans who reckon Rangers could have handled Lovelace’s situation better at Auchenhowie.
Rangers transfer reality check as downsizing continues ✖️
Whilst we fully endorse getting those overpaid Rangers squad players off the club’s books, the exits are a stark reminder of Rangers’ financial situation.
Rangers cut the wage bill by £6m last summer and will hope to slice it even further come the end of this season with the Castore training jackets of several players on shaky pegs at Auchenhowie.
Rangers will do well to ship out high-earners such as Ben Davies, Kieran Dowell, Rabbi Matondo and Tom Lawrence when the final whistle goes in May.
But it will take some time for the club’s spending power to return in a stark warning to Rangers fans about the current fiscal situation at Ibrox.
Rangers have been living outwith their means, a dangerous path to trod down as we all well know, and ran at a £17.2m operating loss last season.
These are unsustainable numbers for a club used to winning which is experiencing unsustainable levels of failure.
Rangers can frame this as giving youth a chance; the scouting team deserve immense credit for unearthing Clinton Nsiala, Jefte and Hamza Igamane for example.
But Rangers, in no uncertain terms, are downsizing the club’s financial operations whilst still having to grapple with a financially superior and more stable rival.
The challenge is monumental but Philippe Clement is strapped in for the ride.
The fact we’ve been fishing about for creative loan deals might be financially responsible, but it also proves there are limited resources within Ibrox.
