Rangers Prepare for Signings as McInnes Targets Wingers
Rangers are braced for a frantic few weeks in the market, with Derek McInnes pushing for as many as four new signings to arrive before the window closes – but only once a wave of departures has cleared space in his squad.
The first piece of the rebuild is already in place. Defender Olwethu Makhanya has checked in from Philadelphia Union, a move that underlines the manager’s desire to refresh his back line. The traffic out of Ibrox has started too, and it is unlikely to slow.
Oliver Antman has completed his switch to Anderlecht, trimming attacking options and removing one of the club’s more versatile forward pieces. Nedim Bajrami is also closing in on a move to the Saudi Pro League, a deal that would further thin the numbers in both the front line and midfield.
McInnes’ plan is clear: stretch the pitch, and stretch opponents.
Wingers top McInnes’ wish list
Sources close to the club are adamant that wide areas sit at the heart of this rebuild. McInnes wants greater punch on the flanks and is pushing hard for two new wingers before the deadline.
Rangers lacked consistent damage from out wide last season. Too often, moves slowed on the wings, crosses lacked conviction, and full-backs were left without the support or incision required at this level. McInnes has identified that weakness and is moving aggressively to correct it.
The pressure to land those wide players is sharpened by the calendar. Rangers open their Premiership campaign on Friday night away to Dundee United at Tannadice, and the manager has been blunt: he wants his new faces in the door as soon as possible, not scrambling through late-August medicals.
He knows the schedule that lies ahead – domestic and European – will punish any squad that goes into September undercooked.
Defence under the microscope
While wingers headline the to-do list, the back line is not far behind. Rangers are aiming to bring in two more defenders, with the situation around John Souttar a key driver.
Souttar is widely expected to move on, and his potential exit only heightens the urgency for fresh defensive cover. Makhanya’s arrival offers one new option, but McInnes wants depth, competition and the ability to rotate without a drop in standards.
This is not a cosmetic tidy-up. It is a structural reset of a defence that must withstand the demands of a season on multiple fronts.
Midfield moves on hold – for now
In the middle of the park, the picture is more delicate. Another central midfielder is not currently at the top of McInnes’ shopping list. That could change, but only if there are exits first.
Connor Barron and Mo Diomande are among those who could be moved on, while the situation around Nico Raskin hangs over the entire window. Interest in Jens Herto Dahl of Tromso has cooled for the moment, with any immediate move effectively paused until Rangers know exactly who is staying and who is going.
Everything in midfield, ultimately, orbits around Raskin.
The Belgian is the club’s most valuable asset in that area of the pitch. He is valued at more than £20 million and continues to draw serious attention from Villarreal and other European sides. Any sale at that level would instantly reshape McInnes’ options, handing him the kind of financial muscle that can transform a squad in a single window.
It would also rip out a key piece of his current midfield. That is the trade-off at the heart of this summer.
High stakes as the clock ticks
The clock is already loud. Just over a month remains in the window, and Rangers are still a work in progress.
McInnes inherits a squad in transition, one that has already felt the first tremors of change but clearly has more to come. The mandate is simple and unforgiving: make Rangers competitive on all fronts, and do it quickly.
The hierarchy, backed by the 49ers, are prepared to support that push. The club will continue to be backed off the pitch as the manager reshapes what happens on it.
Now it comes down to execution. Can Rangers land the wingers that change the tempo of their attack, secure the defenders who steady the back line, and navigate the Raskin situation without derailing the balance of the side?
The answers will not be found in boardrooms or briefings. They will arrive, one by one, in the form of signatures, departures – and the team that walks out at Tannadice and beyond.
