Selling off Aribo and Bassey was a blessing
Money from top duo has let Rangers construct a far more balanced squad
IF you split last season into two halves, there was an argument for Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey being the two best players at Rangers. At times, Aribo was almost unplayable prior to Christmas. Bassey then showed astonishing development in the second half of the campaign to make him one of the most sought-after young defenders in Europe.
A couple of months back, I would have winced at the prospect of both departing Ibrox this summer. But it’s happened. And the result is actually exciting. Because the huge money earned from their sales holds the key to this season’s Premiership title race.
I like the look of how Rangers have spent so far. There’s a tremendous mix within the seven signings made — a bit of everything, really.
I feel it’s going to be an incredibly tight contest with Celtic this season. They are the settled side and the reigning champions. But if Giovanni van Bronckhorst can get his new additions to gel as quickly as possible, I think Rangers now have a greater overall depth of quality than they did last season — even without Aribo and Bassey.
That might just be enough to edge things in their favour over the course of a truly fascinating campaign.
It’s easy to see Rangers were well prepared for this summer’s events. They might not have expected to sell Bassey for so much, but they knew clubs would come for him.
The same was always going to be true of Aribo if a contract extension wasn’t put in place. Now it’s Ryan Kent (below) and Alfredo Morelos entering the final 12 months of their deals. While the noises seem very positive on Morelos staying, sporting director Ross Wilson will be ready with options for replacements if something happens with either of them before August 31. Since the sale of Nathan Patterson in January, my old club have done extremely in the market. With Aribo and Bassey, we are talking about players signed under Steven Gerrard for very little outlay up front. After two or three years, they are going for £10million and more than £20m. I can imagine Ibrox fans will almost have a tear in one eye after losing two very good players and a glint of laughter in the other from the signings their sales have allowed. It’s a really interesting time. When Van Bronckhorst first came in, I think he realised there were maybe five or six positions where he had two players of relatively similar quality — and another five positions where that wasn’t the case. He knew that situation had to improve. And, as I said, I don’t think there’s much doubt the general depth of the squad is now better.
Bassey was obviously very capable in two positions, left-back and central defence. Ben Davies ticks the latter box, while Ridvan Yilmaz will come in on the left.
Right-wing has been light for a long time. Scott Wright did okay but you need someone else to compete, while bringing different qualities of their own.
Rabbi Matondo provides incredible pace and directness, which could transform elements of how Rangers attack.
We saw the points dropped in the Premiership last season while the Europa League campaign continued. Rangers threw them away at times and eventually lost the title.
It was vital to create a deeper layer of talent, with hungry players feeling they have a point to prove.
They seem to have that now. And I also see the potential for more goals, too. Last season, a lot of pressure was put on Kent to provide the creative spark going forward. I think he’s a tremendous player but his statistics were not as impressive as you’d have liked.
In part, that was because there was too much onus on him. The opposition could see that and adjusted their game plan accordingly.
Against tight defences in Scotland, you need several players capable of producing something unexpected In Matondo, Tom Lawrence and Malik Tillman, I feel Rangers have that now. They all have to prove it, of course, and prove it quickly. That’s just part and parcel of being at Ibrox.
But I envisage better options to change things in games while maintain attacking creativity. That, in turn, could lessen the burden on Kent and let him flourish. As Van Bronckhorst said recently, Rangers need to score more to put away games they should be winning.
They didn’t always do that last season. And it cost them. That has to change this time around. And there is justifiable hope it will.
Yilmaz is capable of providing assists from left-back and, to me, he’s the signing who stands out most as a fantastic symbol of the progress made.
This is a guy who, at 21, has won a domestic title, played Champions League and earned caps for a good nation in Turkey.
Would he have been interested in moving to Rangers a couple of years ago if there was a chance to go to Germany or elsewhere? I’m not sure he would.
It’s changed now. For two reasons. Firstly, players with the potential of Yilmaz can see what Ibrox did for the careers of Aribo and Bassey.
You can have success, play in Europe and, if you want to go somewhere else a few years down the line, there is a pathway to the English Premier League or a huge European club.
Then, there is the impact of the Europa League run last season. Don’t underestimate how much that raised the profile of Rangers in foreign markets.
It’s no longer just about moving to Scottish football but to a club with an excellent recent pedigree in continental football.
Of course, while Van Bronckhorst must negotiate Champions League qualifiers, Ange Postecoglou has the luxury of knowing Celtic are already in the group stage.
The Parkhead manager has gone for continuity this summer and I agree spending big on Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota made good sense.
If we look at the title contest before a ball is kicked, we have to be honest and say Celtic are the team to beat.
They’re the champions. They have the track record of consistency. They are a known quantity in many ways.
But we said something similar about Rangers last season. And look how that turned out. If Van Bronckhorst’s newcomers can make a positive start, they have every chance of winning a Premiership race that might just require a photo-finish.