Rangers face one of the biggest transfer windows of the modern era at Ibrox.
Philippe Clement has made no bones about the scale of the rebuild which is coming to the club and the next few weeks will be crucial in our battle to regain domestic dominance.
A diversion from the ineffective transfer strategies of the past – namely investing big money in mediocre players from south of the border – has been binned.
Now the Rangers recruitment board – headed by Nils Koppen – is aiming to source young talents from emerging markets across the globe, turn them into winners, then flip them for big profits.
With all this in mind, you’ll forgive Rangers for being a little nervous that only two new players have walked through the door at Ibrox.
But in what is potentially going to be a huge week for the club’s transfer ambitions, the club’s latest signing has just been announced.
And another is imminently set to follow.
Barron is a bluenose
Up until this week Rangers had only announced the new signings of Brazilian left-back Jefte from Fluminense and French defender Clinton Nsiala from AC Milan.
Both players are 20-years-old with high potential and they are certainly in keeping with that Koppen transfer model.
It’s worth noting that Rangers have also secured more permanent deals for loanees Oscar Cortes and Mohamed Diomande, who were at the club last season.
But whilst footballers from Europe’s elite academies, South America and beyond are certainly exciting, Rangers still have an expectation to meet homegrown quotas and retain a Scottish spine.
Over the years the Gers have slept on talented players coming out of the country, the likes of Lewis Ferguson and Josh Doig opting for Italy before the Ibrox side got their act in order with a bid.
But having seemingly learned from the lessons of the past, Rangers have secured the signing of in-demand Scotland U21 international Connor Barron.
Beating teams in the English Championship and Serie A to the midfielder’s signing, Barron is officially a blue and looks a natural replacement for the outgoing Ryan Jack.
It’s also good to see that the signing of the midfielder has upset the Aberdeen faithful just as much as the capture of Jacko did.
Rangers close in striker transfer
Rangers aren’t set to stop with Connor Barron either.
Whilst links remain to the likes of Yusuf Kabadayi – who is ‘expected’ to join the club despite interest elsewhere – there is no suggestion that this transfer is imminently set to be completed.
Instead it’s the Rangers forward line which looks set to receive a timely boost with pre-season training set to resume this coming Monday morning.
Reports earlier in the week claimed Rangers were in talks with Moroccan side FAR Rabat over 21-year-old striker Hamza Igamane.
Now, that deal has taken a few steps closer to completion as one French journalist claims Rangers have ‘finally agreed’ to the transfer.
Writing for Foot Mercato, Hanif Ben Berkane has however suggested that there are still ‘many details’ to be resolved including the player’s work permit.
Leading Scottish journalist Chris Jack then echoed the claims by suggesting Rangers have struck a £1.5m deal to sign Igamane.
Writing for the Rangers Review, Jack believes that Rangers will secure the signing of Igamane before the return to pre-season training next week.
It is an exciting signing for Rangers, with the striker named amongst the best U23 hitmen in world football by CIES Football Observatory.
Both striker Igamane and midfielder Connor Barron represent steps in the right direction for Rangers this transfer window.
But with much work to be done, and the season edging ever closer, new signings number three and four are almost certainly just the start.
