Recruitment is an area that has seen Rangers heavily criticised in recent years whether it be failure to freshen up the squad, cash in on players at key moments or command the kind of fees that Celtic have when selling on stars.
In fact, the work of their rivals on that front has often been used as a stick to beat them with as the Parkhead side flogged the likes of Victor Wanyama, Virgil van Dijk and Moussa Dembele for big big bucks. Ibrox sporting director Ross Wilson came under fire at the club’s AGM late last year for his work in the transfer market - one shareholder branded it a “disaster” but a new study by the Transfer Room showed positive moves in the January transfer window as it estimates they have increased their squad value by €12 MILLION.
Michael Beale targeted quality over quantity as he made just two signings with Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin. Two emerging players whose contracts were due to expire in the summer at the their respective clubs brought in for relatively low fees but signed on long contracts who, on paper at least, should be worth a whole lot more.
And with nobody heading in the opposite direction, then it has significantly boosted the overall worth of the squad. Of course, it’s just an estimate but presumably one that had more science to it than Dave King’s valuation of £200m by former chairman Dave King in 2020 which Wilson was forced to play down when quizzed on the decrease from that valuation at the AGM.
The same study states Celtic’s squad valuation has gone down by almost £1m - and that doesn’t take into account the loss of Giorgos Giakoumakis who finally moved on to Atlanta United earlier this week. Ange Postecoglou brought in four players in Alistair Johnston, Yuki Kobayashi, Tomoki Iwata and South Korean Hyeongyu Oh but World Cup star Josip Juranovic - reportedly valued by the club at £25m before joining Union Berlin in a move that will see them bank an initial £7.5m, potentially rising to £10m - left. Celtic are comfortable in buying low and selling high and will look at their January business as their transfer strategy in full bloom.
The transfer marketplace website shows that 80 deals were completed by Scottish Premiership clubs in January with €10 million received in fees and Hearts, Livingston and Motherwell all increased their squad value as well as Rangers. Dundee United remained the same after failing to sign anyone with Celtic the biggest losers, followed by Hibs and Kilmarnock at the bottom of the table.
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