Glasgow Rangers may still be in the hunt for the Premiership title, but it will take a dramatic turn of events for the trophy to return to Ibrox following a three-year drought.
Not only will the Gers have to beat Celtic at Parkhead – something which has happened just twice since 2010 – but they will likely need their rivals to drop points in either of the two games after that too.
It appears as though the dropped points to Motherwell, Ross County and Dundee since the beginning of March will prove to be Philippe Clement’s undoing, but he can only do so much with the squad at his disposal.
Former manager Michael Beale endured a poor summer transfer window last season, which saw the Englishman splash millions on players who have either missed large sections of the season due to injury (Danilo) or have simply not been good enough in front of goal (Cyriel Dessers), leading to the club potentially having to undergo yet another rebuild this summer.
Much will depend on how many players Clement moves out this summer with regard to his budget for improving the team, but a few of Beale’s signings could be those who move on, notably Cyriel Dessers and Danilo.
Why Dessers & Danilo could leave Rangers
Beale spent £4.5m on the Nigerian before splashing £6m to bring Danilo to Ibrox from Feyenoord last summer as he sought to bolster his attacking options.
Both have endured tough spells during their maiden year in Glasgow, although Dessers has a chance to finish as the club’s top goalscorer this season.
Since joining, the 29-year-old has scored 20 goals and grabbed eight assists in all competitions, which, on the surface, represents a decent enough debut season at the Light Blues.
Metric
Danilo
Cyriel Dessers
Goals
4
14
Assists
1
3
Shots per game
3
2.9
Big chances missed
9
24
Big chances created
1
7
However, in the top flight alone, Dessers has missed a staggering 24 big chances in 32 games, which means if he was more clinical, the striker could be sitting on 30 or more goals.
His lack of consistency – world beater one minute to taking four chances to score the next – means that his future is currently undecided at this moment in time, although he could be a decent backup option for next season.
Danilo, on the other hand, hasn’t had much time on the pitch to really make a solid impression. The Brazilian has only played 21 times this term due to a succession of injuries, scoring six goals in the process.
The 25-year-old missed nine games in September and October due to a broken cheekbone suffered against St Johnstone before a knee injury sustained against Hearts in December ultimately ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.
Due to the hefty fee paid to sign the forwrad, it looks as though Clement will utilise him next season when he returns to full fitness as he showed promise during his time on the pitch.
Dessers is currently valued at £3.4m according to Transfermarkt, while Danilo’s valuation by the same source is now £5.1m, showing that both players now have values below the fees that Rangers paid to sign them. Hardly a promising sign.
Interestingly enough, the Light Blues managed to sell a player back in 1995 for a fee which, in current money, actually works out as more than Danilo and Dessers’ market value. We're talking about Mark Hateley.
How Mark Hateley performed at Rangers
With Graeme Souness in charge, Hateley became the next big English player to sign for the Light Blues, following in the footsteps of Chris Woods, Terry Butcher, and Gary Stevens.
The former AC Milan striker endeared himself to the Ibrox faithful during his maiden season, scoring twice against Aberdeen in the final match of the season to ensure Rangers won their third league title in a row, and he would become a key player under Walter Smith.
The next three seasons at Ibrox saw Hateley and Ally McCoist become one of the finest striking partnerships in the club’s history. The little and large duo were excellent as the Gers swept up the majority of domestic prizes on offer.
He scored 62 goals across those three years in the league alone, with more notable efforts coming in the Champions League against Leeds United while scoring in both domestic cups.
After 13 goals in just 23 league matches during the 1994/95 campaign, Hateley was sold to Queens Park Rangers at the start of the following season.
Mark Hateley’s transfer value in 2024 money
After five highly successful seasons in Glasgow, Smith sold the Englishman to QPR for a transfer fee in the region of £1.5m, which wasn’t a bad piece of business considering he was approaching the final stages of his career.
In 2024 money, however – with Totally Money adjusted for inflation over the years – that transfer fee would be worth a staggering £14.5m.
Totally Money have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe's top five leagues. Armed with plenty of historical financial data they have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation.
This means that Hateley’s transfer value is worth more than Danilo and Dessers combined, showing how much the club hit the jackpot by moving him on nearly 30 years ago.
The Englishman would return for one final fling at Rangers towards the end of the 1996/97 season as the club were chasing history.
With an injury crisis engulfing the squad, Smith signed Hateley ahead of the final Old Firm clash of the season, and it proved to be a stroke of genius as he bullied the Celtic defence throughout, with a 1-0 win being secured.
He may have scored just once in four appearances, but it was clear he was ready to do anything for the club as they were edging towards securing their ninth title in a row.
If only the current squad had players with this mentality, they wouldn’t be trailing their Old Firm adversaries by three points with just three matches left, especially with how poor Celtic have been this term.
With a big summer ahead for Clement, he will be hoping to add his own version of players such as Hateley and McCoist, who contributed so much to the club.
Much will depend on his budget, but if a decent offer comes in for Dessers or Danilo, the 50-year-old may take the money and run.
Market Movers
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