When approaching a transfer window, whether it is in the summer or January, Glasgow Rangers should be looking to do one of two things with their signings.
They should be making signings with a view to improving the team in the short-term, as they should always be competing for trophies every season.
As well as those impact signings, the Gers should also be looking for young players who have the potential for big development, with a view to selling them on for a substantial profit in the future, to carry their player trading model.
In the summer transfer window just gone, Kevin Thelwell led the recruitment drive and it is hard to see many signings that fall into either of those categories at the moment.
In terms of short-term impact, Rangers are currently fifth in the Scottish Premiership after finishing second last season, which shows that they have regressed on the pitch.
Meanwhile, there are not too many players who were signed in the summer who currently look like they will go on to be sold for a profit in the future.
Rangers summer signings who are most likely to be sold for a profit
Thelwell, who was moved on from his position on Monday, swooped to bring in seven players on permanent deals to Ibrox in the summer, along with the pre-agreed permanent deals for Oscar Cortes and Lyall Cameron that were agreed before he joined in April.
Rangers have a fairly decent record of selling players for big money in recent years. Calvin Bassey joined Ajax for £19.6m, Joe Aribo joined Southampton for £6m, and Nathan Patterson signed for Everton for £11.5m in 2022, whilst Hamza Igamane was sold to Lille for £10.4m this year.
Excluding Cortes and Cameron, as they were not sanctioned by Thelwell, it would be bold to confidently predict that any of the seven permanent summer signings will be sold for profit.
Djeidi Gassama feels like the most likely, at this moment in time, because he was signed from Sheffield Wednesday for £2.2m and has produced six goals and two assists in all competitions, per Transfermarkt. No other summer signing has scored more than twice.
Because none of the others have provided much of an attacking threat, Emmanuel Fernandez, despite playing just four matches, may rank second. Signed for £3.5m, he has scored two goals in four matches and won 88% of his aerial duels in two league outings, per Sofascore.
1
Djeidi Gassama
2
Emmanuel Fernandez
3
Oliver Antman
4
Thelo Aasgaard
5
Youssef Chermiti
6
Bojan Miovski
7
Joe Rothwell
As you can see in the table above, Joe Rothwell and Bojan Miovski, who both started on the bench against Livingston last weekend, rank in the bottom two because they have been bit-part players at the ages of 30 and 26, which does not suggest that they are likely to kick on and be sold for a big profit.
Oliver Antman, with three goal contributions, and Thelo Aasgaard, with two goal contributions, rank just ahead of those two because they are 24 and 23, respectively, and still have time to improve.
Youssef Chermiti ranks in fifth because he has plenty of time to develop, at 21, but was signed for a whopping fee of £8m and has only produced one goal in 13 matches as a striker, per Transfermarkt, which makes it seem unlikely, on current evidence, that they will recoup that outlay.
Meanwhile, there is a player in the current Rangers squad, signed before Thelwell arrived, who does look likely to be sold on for a substantial profit, and potentially for even more than the likes of Joe Aribo and Hamza Igamane.
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Nicolas Raskin was signed by former Gers boss Michael Beale under the previous ownership at Ibrox, whilst they were between sporting directors, in January 2023 for a reported fee of roughly £1.5m from Standard Liege.
Why Rangers could sell Nicolas Raskin for a profit
Given that the Belgian midfielder was signed for a fairly small sum of money, certainly in comparison to a player like Chermiti, it will be ‘easier’ for Rangers to bank a profit on him if they ever decide to cash in.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Leeds and Tottenham are two of a number of clubs across the Premier League and Europe that are eyeing up a possible move for Raskin, but that the Gers want a “big fee” for their star.
This shows that there are teams keen on snapping the Belgium international up from Ibrox in the winter window, which means that Rangers could, if they wanted to, cash in on him to fund new signings for Danny Rohl, not to say that is what they should do.
TEAMtalk reported earlier this month that it would take a fee of £18m to £20m to tempt the Gers to sell Raskin, which would be a substantial profit on the £1.5m they signed him for almost three years ago.
Selling him for a fee in that region would mean that Rangers would get more money for him than they did for Igamane, Patterson, and Aribo, as aforementioned, although it would take a fee of £20m for him to take Bassey’s crown as the most expensive sale in the club’s history.
Appearances
33
10
Sofascore rating
7.43
7.39
Goals
4
1
Assists
10
2
Tackles + interceptions per game
3.4
2.8
Ground duel success rate
57%
53%
Aerial duel success rate
56%
56%
As you can see in the table above, Raskin’s performances as a box-to-box midfielder in the Premiership have been exceptional since the start of last season, as he has provided quality in the final third and defensive strength out of possession.
The 24-year-old maestro, once praised as “unbelievable” by ex-Gers striker Kris Boyd, has proven that he can provide consistent performances for the club, which is something the batch of summer signings this year have failed to do thus far.
That is why Raskin may end up being sold for a huge fee, as possibly the most or second-most expensive sale in the club’s history, amid interest from several teams in January, whilst it is hard to say if any of Thelwell’s signings will go on to be sold for a profit.
"Rotten" Thelwell signing is Rangers' biggest waste of time since Dowell
This summer signing by Kevin Thelwell has been as bad as the deal to bring Kieran Dowell to Rangers.
ByDan Emery
Whilst Rangers supporters may not want to see the Belgian move on from the club in January, his story and the fact that there is the possibility that he is sold for huge money is an example that Thelwell’s replacement should look to follow.