Rangers need to be clever in this summer’s transfer window with not every deal having to be about how much money it could make the club further down the line.
Oscar Cortes’ loan-to-buy deal is one that has been seen before and means that a player who the manager knows won’t be paid for out of this year’s budget.
Philippe Clement knows that he will lose players too and one possible departure has seen their price tag named with Rangers benefiting in more ways than one.
Robby McCrorie has Rangers price tag set
After reportedly asking for a transfer in January, Robby McCrorie decided he must seek out regular first-team football and leave his boyhood club.
The 26-year old has never really got a fair crack at the number one jersey.
He looked assured securing clean sheets against Alashkert and Celtic only to be dropped as soon as Allan McGregor returned to action.
That the veteran stopper’s form had been far from impressive only makes matters worse.
McCrorie has been a victim of his own loyalty but now is the right time to move on and has already been linked with a move to Aberdeen.
According to Scott Burns of The Daily Record, McCrorie’s valuation has been set at £500,000 with the Ibrox outfit looking for add-ons as part of the deal too.
Being an Auchenhowie graduate, this fee is all profit.
It is the perfect example of how the academy can still make Rangers money even if players don’t become first-team regulars.
Rangers have like-for-like replacement lined up already
In the grand scheme of things, it might not be a lot of money in modern football, but for Rangers it would cover the cost of Connor Barron or Reuell Walters’ compensation fees, if they followed up their reported interest.
Every little helps.
It’s not just regular football that McCrorie could achieve by leaving Rangers.
The current group of Scotland goalkeepers is far from the standard that McGregor and Craig Gordon set for almost the whole of the 21st century.
There is an opportunity there for someone like McCrorie if he is playing consistently and to the level that he is capable of.
The good thing is, not a penny of the £500,000 would have to be spent on a potential replacement.
If the reports are accurate, Liam Kelly has been lined up to replace McCrorie on a Bosman deal and, at just a year older, is almost an upgrade given his experience.
There isn’t much between the two keepers but McCrorie, maybe, has a higher ceiling in terms of potential.
The chance to be £500,000 better off without really losing any quality is too good an opportunity to turn down.
