Every pound counts if Rangers are to close the financial and sporting gap with Celtic, both in terms of revenue and sustained success on the pitch.
In the summer of 2024, five senior Rangers players left for a mere £800,000, despite all but one of them being valued at seven-figure sums. The urgency to reduce the wage bill played a significant role, with clearing space taking precedence over securing the best possible transfer fees, leading to questions about Nils Koppen’s decision-making.
Another area where Rangers must generate more revenue is through their academy, as talented players continue to leave Auchenhowie without any compensation coming back in return.
The latest transfer news from Fabrizio Romano only highlights this issue, as former Rangers youth player Robbie Ure is reportedly set to move on.
Ure, a 6ft 3in striker, made three first-team appearances for Rangers, scoring once. In the summer of 2023, he chose not to extend his contract with Rangers and opted to move abroad. After a trial with AZ Alkmaar failed to result in an offer, it seemed the Scotland youth international would end up in the SPFL’s lower leagues. However, RSC Anderlecht surprisingly signed him, and that move has paid off. With seven goals and two assists in 22 appearances for their B team in Belgium’s second tier, Ure is now set to join Swedish side IK Sirius in a £630,000 deal.
To put this in perspective, that amount is not far from what Rangers will pay Dundee for Lyall Cameron’s development fee—it’s a significant sum that adds up.
This summer, players like Adam Devine and Cole McKinnon could leave Rangers for free, despite having first-team and European experience. They’ve been loaned out to other clubs but were kept on the books, primarily to meet UEFA’s homegrown quota requirements. This not only is unfair to the players but also represents a waste of financial resources.
Rangers turned down a £1m offer for Kai Kennedy during Steven Gerrard’s tenure, only for him to bounce around lower-league clubs in Scotland and England before eventually leaving. Whether it’s through the technical director or sporting director promised by Patrick Stewart, Rangers need to start generating the kind of revenue that ensures their academy pays for itself.
For example, Celtic sold Bosun Lawal for £3m after a successful loan spell at Fleetwood Town, even though he barely featured in their senior squad. That is how to extract real value from academy players, and it’s a lesson Rangers must learn.
Fabrizio Romano drops six-figure transfer claim with striker Rangers let slip on the move
