It has felt like Rangers have been treading water in recent summers rather than kick-starting the sort of rebuild that would really close the gap at the top of the table.
A takeover by the San Francisco 49ers has reportedly been agreed with reassurances already sought by the outgoing investors about potential transfer funding guarantees.
Spending more money doesn’t always equate to an improvement in quality, however, one frustrated former target wouldn’t come cheap but he would make a huge difference for the next Rangers manager.
Photo by Marcel van Dorst / EYE4images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Marcel van Dorst / EYE4images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Rangers should make Joey Veerman the first summer signing
Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande are a start, but there is a missing piece of the midfield jigsaw, someone who can knit everything all together and control the tempo, either from a deeper midfield position or in a box-to-box role.
One such player, who was linked to Rangers under Steven Gerrard, could be Joey Veerman, signed by PSV Eindhoven for a fee believed to be in the region of £4.6million.
Rangers didn’t “fix the roof” whilst the sun was shining, maybe if they did, Gerrard wouldn’t have left and there wouldn’t be a need for fresh investment and a takeover.
Veerman has only started 13 games in the league for under fire manager Peter Bosz and, at 26-years old, will be wanting to play more regularly.
The spine of Rangers’ starting XI needs a lot of work with nobody who can dominate or take responsibility anywhere down the middle of the team.
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Leon Balogun is a fine player, but he will be 37 going into next season, hardly one to build a team around, especially when his injury history is considered.
A reliable, physically dominant centre-half, a controlling midfielder and a striker who can cope with the demands of the SPFL whilst also lead the line in Europe are transfer priorities in the summer.
Players like these don’t grow on trees, nor are they cheap.
Why Veerman is exactly what Rangers are missing?
In the case of Veerman, there is nothing hidden about what he offers, he is a passer, and a good one at that too.
Few are better in terms of key passes, forward passes completed and progressive passes and with 11 assists in 30 appearances this season his numbers speak for themselves.
Veerman has one goal contribution every two games since signing for PSV which is exactly what Rangers have missed from midfield since losing players like Joe Aribo and Scott Arfield.
If Rangers do get extra money to spend in the summer, a player of Veerman’s quality would be a good place to start.