New Cash Won’t Ease Rangers’ Hard Path To Trading Success: Making Rangers’ Transfer Flops Even Costlier? | OneFootball

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, former Aberdeen, Everton, and Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness laid out a challenge for Rangers’ new bosses regarding their transfer strategy. Wyness, who ran a football consultancy for top clubs after his executive career, told Football Insider that Rangers must find young players they can buy and sell for a profit this summer.

The 67-year-old says new chief executive Jim Gillespie, who arrived from St Mirren to replace James Bisgrove, has to look at Brighton’s model and set up a solid succession plan across the entire club. Wyness didn’t hold back, saying Rangers have “stumbled from one crisis to another for many, many years” and that someone needs to grab the club by the scruff of the neck. His points hit home, especially since Rangers saw a £14.8 million net loss in their last accounts, making just £800,000 from five player exits despite a small operating profit earlier on.

Does the Scotland Coefficient Collapse Make Rangers’ Transfer Failures Even More Damaging Than Anyone Realises?

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – FEBRUARY 04: Rangers manager Danny Röhl is seen during the William Hill Premiership match between Rangers and Kilmarnock at Ibrox Stadium on February 04, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The short answer is yes, and the timing makes it worse. Scotland are set to lose their second Champions League spot from the 2027-28 season after falling out of UEFA’s top 15 rankings. This means the total European spots drop from five to four, and clubs will have to start qualifying rounds much earlier.

Former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, also speaking to Football Insider, called this a “very serious” blow to the finances of Scotland’s biggest clubs. He warned that they will simply make less money from UEFA games in the future, making it even more vital to win the league title.

“All these clubs need cash because none of them are profit-making or very few of them are, so cash is always needed,” said Borson.

“Some of it will go to transfers. But they have some pretty big structural issues in Scotland, particularly given the changes in Europe.

“They’ve also talked about putting the season ticket prices up again because they’re talking about the need to invest on the field.”

This is why Rangers’ current setup looks risky rather than just frustrating. Brighton built their success on a foundation of Premier League TV money, something Ibrox just doesn’t have. Trying to copy that plan in Glasgow without that massive revenue means Rangers have to be perfect with their transfers while working with much less cash.

The recent loan of Mikey Moore from Tottenham proves the club can still bring in top-tier young talent, and Danny Röhl seems to have built the right kind of environment for them to grow. That is a good sign. But finding players for cheap and improving them won’t matter if the scouting, data, and selling networks aren’t up to scratch. Rangers keep signing players for reasonable prices only to let them go for pennies or watch their value drop. Until the club get better at selling, even the smartest signings won’t bring in the profits they need to survive.