John Bennett must find missing £3m at Rangers amid previous Ibrox smokescreen
So, John Bennett is the man to finally get Rangers back on course and ensure the Light Blues are once again the dominant force in Scottish football.
Douglas Park’s exit came as a surprise to many but was welcomed. The former Gers chief wasn’t the most popular figure at Ibrox and was perhaps a victim of other failures within the club – Ross Wilson, for example.
One aspect of the club which led to angst amongst the fanbase was the level of expenditure in relation to transfers. There were some big money outgoings last summer and some fairly insignificant sums spent on new players.
Even in the January window, there are questions to be answered. Rangers bought Nicolas Raskin to the club in a deal which could cost the Gers around £1.7million (Belgian football Journalist Sacha Tavolieri, 31 January). However, in the summer of 2022, the Light Blues were in talks with Standard Liege over a move, with the Jupiler League side wanting £4.6million for the Belgium midfielder (T4O on Patreon).
Essentially, the Gers were discussing a deal worth nearly £3million more for the 22-year-old less than a year ago. So where exactly has that money gone?
It was nowhere to be seen when Rangers were pushing for Swansea City star Mogan Whittaker towards the end of the January window.
The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano claimed (via Twitter, 27 January) a bid had been made for the attacker, however a bid didn’t materialise.
It’s now up to Bennett to unearth some of the funds that have been held back in order to support Michael Beale in what is a huge transfer window for the club. Quality is required to finally close the ever-increasing gap to Celtic.
In other Rangers news, the club may now approach a sporting director who built a Champions League-winning team and can hire him for free.