Truth is, some of our best buys in recent years came from nowhere to most fans. Dessers, Igamane, Cerny and Sima arrived without big headlines and they delivered or at least offered real upside. That tells you something: looking beyond the usual English lists can unearth players who have something to prove and are cheaper to bring in.

Why the lesser-known route can work

Signing players who aren’t household names means you pay less and get a motivated lad with room to grow. They often arrive hungry, ready to settle and fight for a place. To be fair, not every unknown will be a hit, but too many fans assume the only route is the same scouting pools we already overuse. If our recruitment team broadened the search, we’d stop swapping familiar faces and start finding proper value.

What went wrong last summer

Last year felt messy. A lot of signings, some I knew well and wasn’t convinced by, and only a couple — Gassama and Moore — that actually excited me. We also let useful players go, missed targets or moved on from recruits because the manager wanted his own people. That’s football, but there’s a balance: bringing in numbers for the sake of it rarely helps squad cohesion or value for money.

How I’d like recruitment to change

Look wider. Scout leagues and countries we habitually ignore. Prioritise players with clear upside and character rather than names on a spreadsheet. Let the backroom recruitment and coaching staff find the overlooked gems and give them a proper chance to settle. If we do that, we stop repeating the same mistakes and start building a squad with identity rather than just a list of familiar signings.

I’m not saying forget proven talent entirely, but mix it up. For the sum we spend on a safe option, we could bring two players hungry to prove something. That feels like the better way forward for Rangers right now.

Written by DJB_Ranger: 6 July 2026

Tags: transfers