Kevin Keevins baffled by Philippe Clement transfer stance at Rangers
Kevin Keevins has been left baffled by how Philippe Clement is approaching the end of the transfer window at Rangers.
In his column on page 59 of the Sunday Mail [25 August], Keevins says Clement is going about this year’s Scottish title race in “an odd way” and believes stars he is trying to offload could contribute during the season.
Todd Cantwell, Ianis Hagi and Ben Davies are among those the Belgian is looking to trim from the squad before the 30 August deadline, to clear the path for further incomings.
“It’s an odd way to go about challenging for the league title when you think about it,” Keevins said.
“Davies has never amounted to much but the others could have contributed to the title effort.
“And what guarantee can Clement get concerning their replacements?”
Rangers set for tricky few days
How different the Rangers squad may look heading across Glasgow to face Celtic next Sunday to how it looks now is anyone’s guess.
There are several Clement wants gone in the final few days of the window, who he may well have sought to integrate back into the squad if there were not a list of targets he still wanted to bring in – apparently prevented from doing so by the burden of what he has.
Alongside the obvious trio Keevins mentioned, the likes of Scott Wright and Rabbi Matondo are also on the hit list – and the latter has done his stock no harm after two goals and two assists in a man-of-the-match display against Ross County on Saturday.
Clement’s point is somewhat valid, depending on the details of the financial restrictions he has from the board. Rangers have spent around £11m on incomings this summer; they have recouped approximately only £2m – the majority of that from Sam Lammers.
If the Gers can strike another high-profile sale, the shackles could be released and then would be time for Clement to put his money where his mouth is.
Fans can see what has appeared to be lined up behind the scenes for the past few weeks – deals the club could not press ahead with due to being unable to move on their unwanted stars.
In other Rangers news, Clement discusses the “crazy” background to the Connor Barron signing.
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