The winter transfer window would, as it turned out, finally a new midfielder put pen to paper with Philippe Clement’s resurgent Rangers.
Rangers like NK Osijek’s emerging Croatian Marko Soldo but could not afford the £2.5 million fee required as they keep the purse-strings tight with an eye on the summer. Leon Belcar signed a new contract at Varazdin, another team in Croatia’s top flight.
Those links with CSKA Moscow enforcer Sasa Zdjelar also came to nothing.
The same cannot be said, at least, of Rangers’ interest in one of the most exciting homegrown talents Scottish football has to offer.
While Nils Koppen prides himself upon signings such as Jefte and Hamza Igamane – the Gers looking further afield for bargain buys – the technical director is keen to point out that Ibrox will always be home to the best local talent.
Hence why Rangers jumped at the chance to sign Dundee’s Lyall Cameron on the sort of pre-contract deal which brought Connor Barron to Glasgow from Aberdeen a year previously.
As for Carney Chukwuemeka, well, a deadline day deal would unfold for him as well.
Carney Chukwuemeka makes Dortmund switch after Rangers offer
Rangers News were exclusively told at the start of December that Chelsea had put forward Carney Chukwuemeka to Rangers in the form of a short-term loan deal. Why things never went any further than that, well, there are probably a few reasons.
For instance, the size of Chukwuemeka’s wages – reportedly a staggering £100,000-a-week – would have required Chelsea to subsidise a far greater percentage than they would ideally have liked to.
Furthermore, once Borussia Dortmund entered the equation, all other opportunities may have paled for an England Under-20 international who would have watched Jude Bellingham and Chelsea teammate Jadon Sancho blossom in the Bundesliga.
There is also the not-insignificant factor of Chelsea making a potentially hefty profit on a 21-year-old who has not played a single minute of Premier League football in 2024/25.
According to Kicker, Dortmund have the option to sign Chukwuemeka permanently to the tune of £29 million.
While Rangers would only have been in the market for a straight loan, Dortmund have offered Chelsea, and Chukwuemeka, a potential escape route out of a transfer which really hasn’t worked out for anyone involved.
Dortmund excited by ‘extremely talented’ Chelsea loanee
“Carney is an extremely talented box-to-box player who has made a real impression in the Premier League at a young age,” Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl tells the club’s in-house media channel.
“It’s no surprise that he has played for all the England youth teams from Under-17 onwards. His dynamism, his attacking mindset and his confidence, combined with his outstanding quality as a footballer, make him an exciting addition to our squad.
“His development had stalled recently in London. But, despite not having played regularly, we think he offers huge potential and we hope that Carney can rediscover what makes him such a good player here.”
Chukwuemeka made his name as one of the brightest talents in British football at Aston Villa.
Former Villa and Rangers boss Steven Gerrard called Carney Chukwuemeka ‘a fantastic talent’ shortly before his ill-fated £20 million switch to Chelsea back in 2021.
“I’m really excited and blessed to be here and represent this big club,” the one-time Northampton Town starlet says during his unveiling on Monday. “I can’t wait to play in front of the fans at Signal Iduna Park and bring success to us all.”
