Rangers and Philippe Clement look set for a busy transfer window no matter what happens come the summer.
With the Ibrox side still in the hunt for what would be a miraculous treble, there are five games to go and everything still to play for this season.
That alone is something of a miraculous situation given how the team had stuttered under Michael Beale.
But with as many as six first-teamers out of contract, decisions to made on loan players, and a general feeling of things needing to be freshened up, this summer is all set to be a biggie for Rangers.
Here are the seven big transfer questions surrounding Rangers no matter if the current squad head into the summer as treble winners, or serial losers.
Will Jack Butland still be at Rangers next season?
Let’s start with the foundation of this Rangers team and any further success we enjoy this season.
Player of the Year nominee Jack Butland has been a revelation since joining in the summer and continues to be a match-winner for the Ibrox side.
As a result of the form, there’s plenty of chatter about a potential return down south but Butland himself is fully-focused on the task at hand in Glasgow.
Having spent years warming Premier League benches, it’s clear Jack is in no rush to disappear back to England any time soon and that is good news for Rangers.
But whilst the Ibrox side are in a position of strength, money talks and if any English top flight is prepared to put up then Rangers will have to sit up and listen.
Rangers have also been strongly linked with a move for Belgian goalkeeper Arnaud Bodart.
Is centre-back a Rangers transfer priority?
Centre-back is one area of the park for Rangers which is currently at the centre of much uncertainty.
Stalwart defender Connor Goldson is out of the side amid a downturn in form, with captain James Tavernier leaping to his defence only this week.
Linked to Saudi Arabia, there appears no guarantee that Rangers’ highest earner will still be here next season and given the way he’s been playing, there probably shouldn’t be.
Leon Balogun is also out of contract come the end of the season – although the Nigerian is open to a new deal – whilst the less said about Ben Davies’ disastrous two years in Scotland the better.
It leaves Scotland international John Souttar as the only reliable centre-back option heading into next season and it is an area which needs fresh investment in the summer.
End of an area at full-back for Rangers?
For nine years James Tavernier has been the mainstay at right-back for Rangers.
For six, it’s been Croatian international Borna Barisic on the other side of the pitch.
The two have been near permanent fixtures on either side of the Rangers defence but both have been subject to exit links heading into the summer transfer window.
Whilst James Tavernier has rebuked links to Saudi Arabia – with the Rangers captain’s eyes instead set on a testimonial – the situation with Borna Barisic is a tad different.
The ex-NK Osijek captain is out of contract and destined for the exit door with Turkish side Trabzonspor strongly mentioned in dispatches.
There are also doubts over back up options Dujon Sterling, who has evolved into a midfielder, and Ridvan Yilmaz, whose injury record has prevented him getting any consistency at Ibrox.
Whilst at the very least we’ll see a left-back arrive this summer, links to West Ham right-back Ben Johnson have really opened up a discussion about the other side of the park too.
John Lundstram to lead engine room exodus?
There is some confusion surrounding John Lundstram heading into the summer transfer window at Rangers.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement has been clear that he ‘expects’ the midfielder to sign a new deal but reports in Turkey and Scotland have claimed a move to Trabzonspor is a legitimate option.
Whatever the case, the Scouser’s situation has clearly yet to be settled and until a new contract is announced, an exit remains a firm possibility.
But it’s not just John Lundstram who will likely be moving on in the summer.
Veteran Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack – now in his seventh season at Ibrox – is out of contract, out of fitness, and increasingly out of luck at the club.
The likes of Aberdeen midfielder Connor Barron have been touted as a replacement but it’s clear at least one, if not two, central midfielders will need to be signed in the summer.
What next for Sima, Silva and Cortes?
Rangers currently have four players on loan at Ibrox this season.
Only one of them, impressive Senegalese midfielder Mohamed Diomande, is currently set to still be at Rangers next season.
It means there are big decisions to make with Abdallah Sima, Fabio Silva and Oscar Cortes with circumstances somewhat different for all three.
Sima has impressed and Rangers News understands Brighton are willing to do a deal for the 22-year-old attacker.
Reports in Portugal have suggested the underwhelming Fabio Silva will return to Wolves and the situation with Oscar Cortes is keeping Rangers fans guessing.
The young Colombian has an option-to-buy in his loan from RC Lens in Ligue 1 but after spending the overwhelming majority of his temporary stay injured, a permanent switch looks unlikely.
By the same token, there are three first-team players currently out on loan who will need to have their futures resolved in the coming months.
Will Philippe Clement look for width next season?
Heading into the start of the season, a controversial transfer window under Michael Beale had many feeling that there was a lack of natural width in the squad.
Rabbi Matondo has shown flashes of his quality, but needs to do so more often, whilst the aforementioned Abdallah Sima has impressed coming in off the left.
Oscar Cortes was obviously signed to provide this width from January, whilst the lack of options has allowed for the emergence of Ross McCausland.
Add into the mix Scott Wright – who was deemed not good enough for the squad last summer – and Rangers lack genuine, reliable matchwinners on the flanks.
It’s something we suspect Philippe Clement and Nils Koppen will look to address and an area that needs looked at with the current options quite simply not producing enough numbers.
Will Rangers have a new number 9 next season?
Finally, there remains huge questions over the Rangers strike force.
Cyriel Dessers currently bears the brunt of the number 9’s responsibility and after netting 21 times this season has probably done enough to earn another crack at it next year.
But with Brazilian striker Danilo spending almost the entire campaign sidelines, the £6m signing from Feyenoord will be expected to step up next season.
That third striker slot, currently occupied by Kemar Roofe, is also set for an overhaul with the Jamaican out of contract in the summer.
Unlikely to be offered a new contract, it’s almost certain we’ll add another forward with boyhood Rangers fan and the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer Lawrence Shankland heading the discussion.
