Two seasons ago, Rangers went into the January sitting on top of the Scottish Premiership and with Giovanni van Bronckhorst leading a charge in Europe that would fall only at the final hurdle.
The then Gers boss needed extra firepower with Kemar Roofe injured and Cedric Itten struggling to recover from Covid-19, instead, he got Amad Diallo who had a handful of senior appearances and an unfit Aaron Ramsey.
Dave Vos has explained where Rangers went wrong in his time as assistant manager and one target that was missed typifies the lack of investment.
Mateo Cassierra rampage shows Rangers what they missed
Colombia international Mateo Cassierra was at Sochi when Rangers were reported to be interested in a striker and was valued at £8.5m by his club, although he eventually moved for just £4m.
Rangers were put off by the fee and even after losing the league the season before, only Antonio Colak was signed to provide competition to Alfredo Morelos.
Cassierra, according to The 4th Official at the time, wanted to make the move to Glasgow, however, the fee quoted by Sochi was the stumbling block:
“I was contacted by a source close to this move (not Rangers), and he confirmed Rangers interest in the striker, however, when pressed on how close the move is in reality, I was told that the player has several options but Rangers is where Cassierra wants to move.
“Separately, I had another conversation with a source close to the Ibrox board, and he told me categorically that Rangers would not be paying anywhere close to £8.5m for the striker.”
Rangers board must learn lessons from not backing Gio
The 6ft 1 inch tall striker has been in fine form this season and has just replicated the feat of Marco Negri by scoring five goals in one game.
With 24 goals and seven assists in 36 appearances, the 27-year old is clearly in the form of his life.
His form has been so impressive that Chelsea were alerted to his talents in January for a fee said to be in the region of £10m.
Against Akhmat Grozny, Cassierra couldn’t miss and showed once again what Rangers have missed out on over the last two seasons.
Nils Koppen has been linked with several players like Mateo Cassierra as he looks to upgrade the Rangers squad, but the difference is, he is looking to sign players with this type of profile before they become too expensive.
A facet of the player trading model Rangers have yet to get right.
