THE REVERSAL OF FORTUNES
Big profits from sales of bargain-buy stars underscore value of player trading model
JUST over 18 months ago, Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson explained his vision of how he wanted the club to operate in the transfer market.
Robertson identified four key ‘pillars’ which would drive the club’s finances, one of which was to be a player trading model.
The logic behind it was clear, with the strategy focused on buying talented younger players, developing them for a few years, before then selling them on for a tidy profit.
This is now pretty much the modus operandi for so many clubs of similar stature around Europe. There is no longer any shame in being a ‘selling’ or ‘feeder’ club. It’s just smart business.
‘The last pillar is player trading,’ said Robertson. ‘We don’t have much at all in that regard but what we do have, which we haven’t had to the same extent, is a real value in the squad.
‘We know that, in time, a key part of our business model means that we have to facilitate an increase in income by trading players. We have to really focus on that over the next 12 months.
‘We know as a club we’ve made a lot of progress in a lot of areas but that area is one we’re really focused on. We know for the business model of the club we need to start moving one or two players a year.’
Yet, with every transfer window that passed, it was beginning to feel like the player trading model was an idea which existed more in theory than reality.
There was simply no trading to speak of. Apart from a brief flirtation with Lille and Leeds United over Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent, there was never any serious prospect of any high-profile exits. Now, though, the landscape has changed. Rangers have serious interest in some of their players, helped no doubt by last season’s run to the Europa League final.
The business model kicked into action back in January with the £16million sale of Nathan Patterson to Everton, an excellent return on an academy graduate.
Joe Aribo has now moved on to Southampton for £10m, with Calvin Bassey poised to join Dutch champions Ajax in a deal in excess of £20m.
Between them, Aribo and Bassey joined Rangers for a combined outlay of around £500,000. Clearly, to move them on for the best part of £30m represents terrific profit as Giovanni van Bronckhorst looks to reshape his squad. New arrivals include John Souttar, Antonio Colak (right), Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo, Malik Tillman, with Ben Davies also poised to join from Liverpool. The mood at Ibrox has changed over the past few weeks, when it felt like the club were perhaps dragging their heels in terms of getting deals done.
Beyond a few contract extensions to players already in the building, there didn’t seem to be a great deal happening, but there is now a feeling of positivity.
Having scaled such remarkable heights in last season’s run to the Europa League final, Rangers now have the first date in their diary for what they hope will be another memorable European adventure.
Yesterday’s draw for the Champions League qualifiers pitted them against Union SaintGilloise of Belgium, a tricky tie but one where Rangers will be favourites to progress. The fact that Rangers have got a lot of their business done early should also instil a sense of confidence.
In terms of how not to do things, they only had to look across the city at how Celtic have approached the transfer market in recent years. Almost every season without fail, Celtic were guilty of dragging their heels and failing to get deals over the line, knowing full well they had Champions League qualifiers on the horizon.
Some players — Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer, Moussa Dembele — would hang around until August, waiting to see if the club reached the group stage, before dropping a bombshell that they wanted to leave.
It became a running circus year after year that Celtic would go into the Euro qualifiers with a half-baked squad. They became notoriously slow at getting their business done. They would then go and make some panic buys late in the window — Shane Duffy, Diego Laxalt, Albian Ajeti — to try and save face.
Ange Postecoglou, of course, doesn’t have that problem this time around given that Celtic are guaranteed entry into the Champions League group stage.
Can Rangers join them? Well, the decisive approach being shown over the past few weeks brings with it a sense of clarity and optimism. The £40m on offer for reaching the Champions League group stage would also have a transformative effect on the club’s finances. Union Saint-Gilloise certainly won’t be any pushovers. They were the surprise package in Belgium last season, finishing top of the
table in the regular season before being pipped to the title by Club Brugge.
But, on the face of it, they have been weakened. Their manager from last season, Felice Mazzu, has been poached away by Anderlecht. His replacement is Karel Geraerts, the former Belgium midfielder who is now embarking on his first job in frontline management.
Union SG have also lost last season’s top scorer, German striker Deniz Undav, who fired 25 goals but has now returned to parent club Brighton. Indeed, the Belgians are actually owned by Seagulls’ supremo Tony Bloom and the clubs have an affiliation over player recruitment.
Interestingly, it has been under Bloom’s stewardship that the club’s fortunes have been revived. They returned to the top flight for the first time in almost 40 years last season — and almost won the title.
So any notion that Rangers will coast past them should be treated with caution. The feelgood factor from reaching Seville was unlikely to dissipate any time soon. But, with business now booming, Rangers can be excited at the prospect of another Euro adventure.