Rangers transfer state of the address as signing tag team must show off their signature move – Ibrox analysis

Heavyweight WWE star Drew McIntyre was at Ibrox this week as he was inducted into the Scottish Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.

The Ayrshire-born grappler and boyhood Bluenose was joined by club legends Lee McCulloch and Mark Hateley, as well as the world’s strongest man Tom Stoltman as he received the honour. But it’s a show of financial muscle that the Rangers faithful are likely to be more interested in seeing as the return of Philippe Clement’s squad to pre-season edges near.

The big Belgian welcomes his players back to training on June 24 and so far there’s only a couple of fresh faces due to be checking in for their day one bleep test at the Rangers Training Centre. But more - and I mean plenty more - are going to be needed if the Light Blues are to have any chance of pinning down rivals Celtic next season.

Clement and his tag team partner, recruitment chief Nils Koppen, are well aware of the need to get a shift on before they get to August, which is shaping up as a proper royal rumble of a month. The Premiership starts on August 3 and Rangers are scheduled to face at least three league games in the first four weeks of the season, as well as a Premier Sports Cup second-round tie that’s pencilled in for the weekend of August 17/18.

But it’s the four hugely important Champions League qualifying clashes amongst all that will be focusing minds as a potential £40million windfall is put on the line. Clearly, the club don’t have a second to waste as they prepare for next season’s domestic and European fights.

Of course, Clement and Koppen know the scale of the task ahead of them. Former PSV scouting expert Koppen has spent the last few months combing through footage of potential targets, assessing their numbers and speaking with agents. He’s been assured by chairman John Bennett there’s money to spend, with the Ibrox board once again willing to dig deep if required.

Moving big-earners like John Lundstram, Kemar Roofe and Ryan Jack off the wage bill should help. But with Celtic looking forward to depositing a fresh bundle of Champions League riches onto their already heaving reserves of cash, there’s simply no way Gers can match their rivals pound of pound in the spending stakes.

So the pressure is on Koppen to be creative with his recruitment work. As they did when signing Mohamed Diomande back in January, Rangers have worked out a buy-now-pay-later arrangement with Lens in order to hold onto Oscar Cortes. And we’re likely to see the club casting a net further afield than in recent years. The English market provided a raft of players for Steven Gerrard, Gio van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale but there’s a feeling at Ibrox now that you’ll get better value shopping elsewhere.

Brazilian left-back Jefte was first to check in having been spotted playing his football in the remote corner of the Mediterranean with Cypriot outfit APOEL last year. And AC Milan kid Clinton Nsiala has been plucked from the Rossoneri academy.

But don’t expect to see the French youth cap making a big impact from the off given the 20-year-old is completely devoid of top-team experience. He’s a project signing, with the hope he’ll turn out like Calvin Bassey and blossom into a valuable asset that can be sold for a huge profit. Whether that turns out to be the case is the big unknown.

There’s a list of other names being considered, like Connor Barron, Tommy Conway, Albion Rrahmani and Yusuf Kabadayi. But again, how they would fit into Clement’s side will only be revealed if Gers can prove their might and get the deals done.