49ers Enterprises’ takeover in the summer was supposed to signify the start of a glorious new era for Rangers, but it has not quite panned out that way so far.
Their first major decision was the appointment of Russell Martin as manager, but he lasted just 123 days in the job, winning only five of 17 games before being dismissed last month.
There are early signs that his successor Danny Röhl is starting to slowly turn things around, claiming a third successive league victory at Dundee on Sunday, albeit the Gers’ nightmarish start to the campaign means they are still down in fourth place, 12 points adrift leaders Hearts.
Irrespective of whom the manager is, if Rangers are going to reclaim a first Premiership title since 2021 any time soon, their recruitment has to improve.
So much money has been wasted in the transfer market, much of it this summer, splashing almost £30m on 13 new recruits, left with very little to show for it, with the team having got significantly worse.
However, there is a clear frontrunner for the club’s biggest waste of money award in recent times, but it isn’t going where you might think.
Rangers' attacking options compared to 2024/25
Last season, Rangers boasted a genuinely frightening front three, all of whom were allowed to depart over the summer.
Václav Černý did not return, following the expiration of his loan from Wolfsburg, instead moving to Beşiktaş.
Meantime, Hamza Igamane was sold to Lille for £10.4m, while Cyriel Dessers departed for Greece, joining Panathinaikos for a reported fee of around £3.5m.
The table below documents just how prolific the trio were last season.
55
29
7
52
18
9
46
16
3
% of total goals
55%
% of European goals
70%
As the table documents, this departed trio scored 55% of all 115 goals Rangers bagged across all competitions last season, as well as 14 of the 20 they scored in Europe, with the Gers making a run to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Thus, Černý, Dessers and Igamane were always going to be a tough trio to follow, with Rangers splashing around £16m on a new quartet in an attempt to do just that, but their attacking options have unquestionably been weakened.
Djeidi Gassama, in fairness, has looked pretty bright, scoring his sixth of the season at the weekend, albeit he is currently not at Černý’s level, while Oliver Antman, despite a scintillating debut, has done little since.
In terms of pure centre-forwards, Bojan Miovski, who joined from Girona for £2.6m, is yet to recapture the form he showed at Aberdeen, while the signing of Youssef Chermiti remains baffling.
After the Portuguese striker failed to score a single goal during two seasons at Everton, Kevin Thelwell, who had initially brought him to Merseyside, decided to sign him again, agreeing to pay the Toffees £8m, potentially rising to £10m with add-ons, making him the club’s second-most expensive signing in history, behind only Tore André Flo in 2000.
Chermiti did open his Rangers account against Kilmarnock during Röhl’s first Premiership match in charge, but has squandered numerous gilt-edged opportunities, with many concluding that he simply is not worth the huge investment.
Röhl must see something in the 21-year-old, however, considering he has started four of the last five matches, but the jury is not so much still out on Chermiti, they’re more on a proverbial break.
At least the striker is starting regularly and contributing that way – the same cannot be said of another expensive signing, saving him from the unwanted worst recent signing accolade, which surely only has one clear winner.
Rangers' worst value for money signing
A player who officially joined Rangers this summer is Óscar Cortés, albeit he had been on loan at the club since 1 February, making him the forgotten man.
When he initially arrived in Glasgow, he did so to plenty of excitement, having been one of the best players at the under-20 World Cup in the summer of 2023, scoring four goals and registering two assists as Colombia reached the quarter-finals, picking up the Bronze Boot, with scout António Mango thereby asserting that he was an “insane talent” who “would be ideal for Liverpool”.
He joined Rangers on loan from Ligue 1 side Lens with an obligation to buy, while the Rangers Journal calling him a “very promising young winger”, who will “provide pace, power and… goal contributions” to the Gers’ forward line.
However, this is certainly not how events have transpired.
To date, Cortés has made just 21 appearances for the Light Blues, totalling 764 minutes, not even named among the substitutes on 58 occasions, usually due to injury.
The Colombian international scored just a solitary goal for the goal, this a sweet right-footed strike during a 5-0 demolition of Hearts just a few weeks after his arrival.
Due to the obligation to buy clause, despite his lack of activity, Rangers were forced to buy Cortés for £4.5m in the summer, making him one of their most expensive signings of all-time.
He actually started August’s League Cup tie against Alloa Athletic at left-back, his only start of the campaign, before being loaned out to Segunda División side Sporting Gijón.
Well, he is yet to make much impact in Spain’s second-tier, seeing just 92 league minutes for los Rojiblancos to date, earning his first start against Mirandés last Friday night, albeit he was hooked at half time, as his team were defeated 2-1.
Seemingly unlikely to revive his career at El Molinón, Cortés has to be considered one of Rangers’ worst value for money signings ever.
Having paid £4.5m to secure his signature, Football Transfers estimate that his value has already dropped to £3m and is on a downward trajectory.
Thus, if Rangers are going to get back to dominating Scottish football, they can ill-afford many more transfer missteps such as this.
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