Rangers squad value drops by 37%, could affect summer transfer plans – The Athletic
Rangers have seen their squad value drop by £63m in a 16-month period and that could affect their summer transfer plans, according to The Athletic.
The Bears have got one of the strongest squads they’ve had at Ibrox in years currently, but are trailing Celtic in the title race despite winning the league by 25 points last year.
Now The Athletic have had the squad valued by Twenty First Group for a second time in 16 months and have seen the value drop by 37% from £170m to £107m, which could see problems for their recruitment strategy.
The value of loanees Amad Diallo and Aaron Ramsey isn’t considered as they aren’t part of the squad beyond the summer, while Connor Goldson, Leon Balogun, Steven Davis, Allan McGregor and Scott Arfield were also left out as they are out of contract.
There was also a 20% discount applied to players entering the final 12 months of their contract, meaning lower values for the likes of Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo, Ryan Jack and Felip Helander.
Blow
The strategy of Rangers has always been to find hidden gems in the wilderness, shine them up to a certain level and then sell them on for big profit while trying to dominate their own domestic league.
But because of the pandemic situation over the last few years, the market has been tougher to sell in. While that has helped them get back to a level domestically where they’re competing again and doing well in Europe, it may have affected the long-term plans.
The majority of their squad are already in their prime or now leaving it, which makes a sale harder to accomplish for a reasonable fee. But the players will have aspirations too, away from Ibrox.
Without being able to get the market value for their best players, it makes it even harder to replace those players and maintain their level.
That means a rethink of a long-term strategy and potentially taking a few hits in the market to get back on track. It’s a big summer ahead for Rangers.
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