Rangers crashed out of the Champions League for a variety of reasons with Philippe Clement frustrated at losing out on an enlarged transfer war chest.
The manager will have to do it the hard way now and move players out who want to leave or who have been deemed surplus to requirements.
Senior players like Connor Goldson and Sam Lammers were replaced quickly with Robin Propper and Vaclav Cerny, however, there is still a lot of work to be done to the squad if success is to be brought back to Ibrox.
Rangers can still add quality despite Champions League blow
What the loss to Dynamo Kyiv has done, is serve as a reminder that the shortage of quality available to the Gers boss is restricting his ability to move the club forward.
Money might be tight, but there is still quality available if Nils Koppen shops in the right places.
These players are either unattached or have been on Rangers radar before and wouldn’t break the bank.
Brandon Williams
With nearly 50 appearances for Man Utd, the 23-year old England Under-21 international has a solid reputation down south and would provide competition for Ridvan Yilmaz whilst covering the Turk’s injury enforced absence.
This would also allow Jefte to stay higher up the pitch where he has impressed.
Williams is available immediately on a Bosman.
Renato Tapia
A name that might be familiar due to his links with Celtic, the 85-times capped Peru international is hugely experienced and, at 29-years old, the defensive midfielder is capable of playing at centre-half still has plenty of miles left in the tank.
Koppen should also be aware of his talents given his time in the Eredivisie with Feyenoord, Willem II and Twente.
Out of contract, he could be a shrew acquisition.
Dimitrios Kourbelis
Linked to Rangers last January, the former Panathanaikos skipper has been released by Trabzonspor and is available for free.
With a similar profile to Tapia, the Greece international is an experienced option who wouldn’t break the budget.
Stuart Armstrong
The Scotland cap seemed certain to join Brentford after playing a trial game and spending weeks at the club training.
Still without a team after being released by Southampton, the 32-year old could be an injury free like-for-like replacement for Ryan Jack.
Would he have made a difference against Dynamo?
Tom Lawrence wouldn’t have had to play 85 minutes for a start.
Dele Alli
A little more far-fetched, however, at 28-years old, Alli’s well publicised mental health issues shouldn’t block any interest in a player who is clearly talented.
Paul Gascoigne arrived at Rangers after hardly playing for the previous three years and he turned out all right.
This season is make or break for a player who once looked like he had the world at his feet and has been mentioned as a possible option before.
Adama Traore
Rangers were in ‘advanced talks’ earlier in the transfer window but nother ever materialised.
A goal-scoring winger with pace would have made a world of difference against Dynamo given that Clement had to go with a left-back and, arguably, Rangers fifth choice in Ross McCausland.
For £3.5m, Traore would come at a cost but immediately strengthen the starting XI on either flank.
Yusuf Yazici
Tom Lawrence can’t be far away from breaking down again due to having to play almost every minute of every game since the season kicked off.
Mohamed Diomande could be utilised higher up the park but, if the situations with Todd Cantwell and Ianis Hagi aren’t resolved, an attacking midfielder with 45 caps and proven success in a top five league would come in handy.
At 27-years old, he is approaching his peak and available on a Bosman.
This list isn’t exhaustive, what it does show though, is that there are players who could come in and strengthen the match day XI.
With money tight, Koppen and Clement need to work smarter, not just harder.
