Ibrox Noise Investigates: Why Rangers REALLY signed Youssef Chermiti | OneFootball

Ibrox Noise is well aware, and has preached for years, that signing players isn’t just down to getting a good player. And why Rangers signed Chermiti.

There are marketing and other reasons why a player joins a particular club, and that’s the way it’s always been.

Chermiti

However, Ibrox Noise has investigated the Youssef Chermiti signature and our sources have also given us some insight, and it’s a mite troubling.

Forget any notion that this player was signed for his ability. He has very little. Aged 21 Chermiti has a grand total of 5 senior goals in football, and 3 assists. That’s in 57 appearances. 5 goals in 57 appearances is not marquee for any striker.

But there’s more to this one.

Stellar

For instance, did you know his agency is CAA Stellar, and they are a business partner of the 49ers?

Yes, they renamed the 49ers stadium in 2011 under their sporting arm CAA Sports and their partner is agency with 49ers players themselves.

The key part here is that Chermiti’s father was his agent till May this year, just as the 49ers Enterprises were completing their Rangers takeover.

Guess who then became his agent. That’s right, CAA. And guess who then ‘inexplicably’ shelled out £10M to sign him from Everton. Yes, that’s right, Rangers!

Thelwell

And no, we’ve not forgotten Kevin Thelwell’s sordid role in this.

He brought the boy to Everton, when Chermiti’s father Noureddine was his agent, in a preposterous £11.5M deal with the boy having far from proven himself in Portuguese football with Sporting.

And when he crashed and burned at Everton, Thelwell did it again.

And that’s where CAA came in. We unfortunately can’t verify this, but we believe Thelwell was ‘encouraged’ by the 49ers to secure this deal, for business purposes.

He knew full well Chermiti was a dud and yet forged ahead, ‘encouraged’ by his paymasters to bring the boy north.

Everton

But there’s the Everton angle – why did he pay so much for a known dud? Why did he essentially refund Everton?

Perhaps as an apology. He shelled out £11.5M on a project, it didn’t work out, so the CAA and 49ers’ asset was to come to their new toy, Rangers, and Everton would get an refund.

But what we do know is CAA and 49ers are mates, and will help each other out.

Unfortunately, Rangers have lost £10M on that partnership. That’s why Rangers signed Chermiti.