Robby McCrorie will bank Rangers ‘good money’ if sold after James Bisgrove ‘as good as promised’ January transfer spend
Robby McCrorie will be in-demand for “good money” if Rangers decide to cash in on him to fund January business for Philippe Clement, according to the Daily Record.
Fraser Wilson claimed on the paper’s website on 15 November that in light of the latest set of accounts being released “the cupboard looks bare” thanks to Michael Beale’s summer transfer “splurge”, which has failed to make the requisite impact and cost the former boss his job.
So with James Bisgrove considered to have “as good as promised” investment for the winter market after Belgian Clement was brought in with presumed assurances over spending McCrorie is seen as a possible departure given there would be “plenty of suitors” ready to pay for him if he is made available.
The club’s accounts showed a £252,000 operating profit for the 2022/23 period and were seen as “boring” but “actually quite good” by finance expert Kieran Maguire.
But the noted £21million summer spend since then, where Beale bought the likes of Cyriel Dessers, Danilo, Jose Cifuentes and Sam Lammers, is thought to leave little in terms of budget for his successor.
Player trading
Since it was only player sales that prevented the accounts showing a hefty loss it is inevitably going to be that model that the club relies on going forward as well.
Clearly the Ibrox hierarchy would not have envisaged needing to flog players in order to spend in January so soon after financing an extensive transfer window conducted to their manager’s specific wishes.
But with Beale having essentially generated his own P45 by spearheading that business and then failing to get it to work in practice that is where the club is.
Clement is getting far more out of the current squad than his predecessor was managing to but will no doubt want some of his own signings sooner rather than later.
The inevitable effect of hiring and firing managers with regularity, in addition to the immediate cost of paying them and their staff off, is that the replacement will want to remake the squad in their image more often that not.
McCrorie seems like he is bound to leave Rangers in the next couple of windows unless Jack Butland becomes a high-priced target and the back-up is promised the starter’s job, so if that has to be in January he might be the answer in order to get a couple in for Clement.
The 25-year-old appears a better number two option than 36-year-old Jon McLaughlin, and letting him leave is a risk if Butland could be prized away next summer, but in the circumstances it might prove to be a deal that has to be done.
In other Rangers news, an official club partner has been left shocked at the discovery “absolute madness” by Aberdeen for the League Cup final.