Rangers get reported £20m warning shot across bow as transfer “priority” claim tested

Rangers need to start doing player trades correctly, as seen by the fees associated with the transfer reports, as Celtic reject an

offer for Matt O’Riley from Atletico Madrid.

O’Riley, a 23-year-old Danish international who has scored 10 goals and provided 12 assists this season, is not improving,

according to Parkhead manager Brendan Rodgers.

Although speculations of a loan proposal with a mandatory £20 million option accompanying it have Celtic refusing to back

down, it is obvious that the Parkhead team will soon make a significant profit on the midfield player.

It’s the most recent caution for Rangers, who are still lagging behind their competitors in the transfer market and require

significant adjustments to catch up to Celtic financially.

Rangers need “systemic” player trading success

Rangers chairman John Bennett reiterated the need for improved player trading as part of the club’s latest financial accounts.

Whilst Bennett admitted that the player trading market can be “volatile”, the Rangers chairman claimed the club must

“replace sporadic ‘wins’ with systematic success”.

Bennett branded player trading a “priority” for the current Board, whilst Rangers manager Philippe Clement has also recently

touched on his need to develop players for future sale in Glasgow.

With season ticket sales, commercial revenue, and European football making up the other three pillars of the Ibrox club’s

business model, player trade has been referred to as the “fourth pillar.”

The Gers have had some success in this area. Despite Patterson’s success at the Academy and the other two costing a total of

£550k, Nathan Patterson (£16m to Everton), Joe Aribo (£10m to Southampton), and Calvin Bassey (£23m to Ajax) all helped

the club turn a healthy profit.

But as of right now, it seems like that model has come to an abrupt end, with very few players in the current team matching

the description of young, driven, talented individuals who can someday make you a fortune.

In light of all of this, Mohamed Diomande’s move, a young Ivorian player rumoured to be close to a £4.5 million deal, is

definitely a positive move.

Matt O’Riley the tip of the Celtic transfer iceberg

Celtic meanwhile are now sitting on an inevitable £20m+ sale, with Matt O’Riley contracted to the club for four years and surely now set for a summer exit.

This follows on from years of big money business at Parkhead, Portuguese winger Jota banking the club a reported £25m in the summer.

You can add Moussa Dembele (£20m to Lyon), Kieran Tierney (£25m to Arsenal), and Odsonne Edouard (£14m to Crystal

Palace) to that list in recent seasons.

Add to that the deals for Kristoffer Ajer, Victor Wanyama, Fraser Forster, Virgil van Dijk and Jeremie Frimpong and

suddenly you start seeing the kind of “systemic success” John Bennett wants at Rangers.

Granted, Celtic have had years on us given the financial collapse of 2012 but Rangers have been too risk averse in the transfer

market when it comes to taking these kind of gambles with their squad.

Humming and hawing over Joey Veerman – who could now be set to bank PSV a fortune – stands out as a prime example.

While the Parkhead team has experienced several howlers over the same time frame and still does, their Ibrox counterparts

have been reluctant to take significant risks.

The Rangers have just received a warning shot across their player trading bow from Matt O’Riley, indicating that everything is about to change.

Rangers must start making improvements in this area if they hope to balance the books in Glasgow, as an extra £30 million is

at stake for Champions League qualification the following season.

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