Michael Ball arrived at Ibrox from Everton for a big fee so knows how Chermiti is feeling after £8million move
04:00, 06 Sep 2025
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Kirk O'Rourke/Rangers FC/Shutterstock (15466810c)
Rangers have signed Youssef Chermiti from Everton.
Rangers Signing - The Rangers Training Centre, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK - 01 Sep 2025
Youssef Chermiti is unveiled by Rangers
Picture the scene: a taxi pulls up at the front door of Ibrox and out steps an Everton starlet carrying the baggage of a massive transfer fee.
Michael Ball has been in this movie before.
His own ended with a happy ending on a blockbuster day at Easter Road.
And the former Goodison hero is backing Youssef Chermiti to enjoy his own starring role as Russell Martin attempts to rewrite his Rangers script.
Ball was among the cast of leading men who took the Light Blues to the unlikeliest of league title triumphs on Helicopter Sunday 20 years ago this summer.
You’d be hard pushed to get that remarkable story past a Hollywood producer but it’s taught Ball one thing - to never give up.
There certainly didn’t seem much hope for Alex McLeish’s team as the final four games of the 2004/5 season approached, with Celtic five points ahead.
And yet on a wild afternoon played out on twin sets in Leith and Fir Park, Rangers’ last-gasp action heroes prevailed with a little help from Motherwell’s Scott McDonald.
That’s why Ball certainly isn’t getting himself in a panic about the state his old side find themselves now, six points behind Celtic but with a full eight months of the season still remaining.
That’s plenty of time for a Gers plot twist - and for £8million newboy Chermiti to shake off the concerns over his huge transfer fee by stealing the Ibrox limelight.
Ball told Record Sport: “From Chermiti point of view, he's got a big price tag on him but if he wins some trophies, nobody's going to be talking about that come the end.
Michael Ball and Dick Advocaat clash
“Right now the team’s struggling, everyone's heads are down.
“But can he be a focal point? Can he be the starring man?
“The fans are screaming out for a legend, a hero to get behind, someone to get Ibrox rocking again.
“So that’s a huge opportunity for him and hopefully he can do that by banging the goals in.
“Then who knows what can happen in football?
“I was at the club when we were told the season's over with four games to go.
"But we rediscovered the momentum. We kept believing — and the rest is history!
“Yes it's been a disappointing start this year but that doesn't mean the season's over.
“There’s a lot more football to go. If Chermiti can get off to a fantastic start, maybe he can be the one making a bit of history!"
Ball certainly knows how Chermiti must be thinking as he settles into life in Glasgow.
The huge fee it took to prise him away from Merseyside is the second biggest the club has ever spent.
Ball didn’t come cheap himself when he was signed by Dick Advocaat for £6.5million in the summer of 2002.
It looked an even costlier deal when the England and Everton left-back suffered a devastating knee injury just 11 games into his Ibrox stint, a blow that would keep him out for 18 months.
It was only then that the enormity of the cash Rangers had spent on him hit home.
“When I first arrived it wasn’t something I gave much thought to because down in England, it wasn’t that big a fee,” he said.
“At that time, you had Rio Ferdinand joining Man United for 30 million quid.
“It was only when I got injured that I started to think about it.
“I was obviously desperate to get back playing but then there was that added pressure because the club had invested a lot of money on me.
“I wanted to repay that faith but there is nothing worse than being stuck on the sidelines for the best part of 18 months.
“While my time in Glasgow was limited after that, I gave everything I could, heart and soul, to prove a point that it was the right decision to sign me.
“It took us a long time to get there, but finally we did that in my final year.
“As a player you can't do anything about transfer fees - they’re sorted by the buying and selling clubs.
“It's only when things go sour that people start talking about money.
“I got that a bit, so did Tore Andre Flo
“When the club is in a good place, no-one cares about fees.
“If Chermiti is scoring goals and making Rangers successful, no-one will care how much he cost.”
Right now though, the fact Martin and sporting director Kevin Thelwell have sanctioned such a pricey move for a player who has only scored three senior goals has raised considerable debate amongst fans over the club’s new recruitment policy.
It was Thelwell - then Toffees director of football - who gave the go ahead for Everton’s £12million swoop for Chermiti joined in 2023.
But Ball reckons he never got the chance to bed in with the Blues having made just two starts for the Premier League outfit.
Youssef Chermiti of Everton
Youssef Chermiti of Everton(Image: Getty Images)
He said: “Everton have gone through a massive rebuild this summer.
“A lot of players, something like 22 players, left the club, but we thought lads like Chermiti, who’d been signed to be the future, would go out on loan to get some experience.
“He’s been stuck in the Under-23s for numerous reasons since arriving from Sporting Lisbon but a lot of it wasn’t his fault.
“Thelwell brought him to the football club for around £12million but unfortunately, he came to a club that was struggling and there was a lot of pressure.
“With the team struggling in the league, it just wasn’t the time to bed in a young striker and allow him the minutes to develop.
“So basically he got stuck in the under 23s, which it's not good enough for players of his quality.
Article continues below
“A lot of Evertonians thought he probably just needed to go out on loan, get some experience and he could then come back and play a part.
“But time moves on very quickly in football.
“Basically his career stalled down here, unfortunately just because of the circumstances at Everton. But Rangers can be a fresh start.”