Rangers manager Derek McInnes has acknowledged that the club must offload players before he can accelerate his Ibrox rebuild. Speaking during the team's pre-season camp in Alicante, Spain, McInnes revealed that while six new signings have already been added this summer, further recruitment hinges on departures.
Current squad size and potential exits
McInnes confirmed that Rangers currently have 28 first-team players on the books, including 10 central midfielders. John Souttar and Danilo have been permitted to skip the training camp in southern Spain to explore moves away, and they could be the first to leave. Belgium World Cup star Nico Raskin's future is also uncertain, which may delay moves for targets such as Tromso midfielder Jens Hjerto-Dahl (valued at £8.5 million), Partizan Belgrade's Vanja Dragojevic, and Lewis Ferguson.
“I think we'd probably look to get a few moving on,” McInnes said. “That happens at most clubs, particularly when a new manager comes in or on the back of a disappointing campaign.”
Rebuilding after a poor season
McInnes, who replaced the previous manager after a disappointing campaign, stressed the need for improvement. “Rangers didn't do the job that was expected of them. So there has to be obvious improvements. Sometimes the improvements come. I'm in position here because things weren't quite right,” he added.
The manager is working closely with the recruitment team, including Dan Purdy and CEO Jim Gillespie, to shape the squad. “We're all kind of singing from the same hymn sheet really about the areas of the team that we need to strengthen,” McInnes said. “Probably still a good bit of work to do without putting a number on it.”
Board support and spending
Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh has indicated a willingness to spend substantially this summer, following last season's outlay of approximately £50 million on players like Youssef Chermiti. McInnes welcomed the board's backing, noting that it allows him to aim for quality additions, especially in wide areas where wingers have underperformed against Celtic.
“It's nice to have that support at any club you go to,” McInnes said. “The board want the best players we can have here. They want the best squad we can put together. And they've been very forthright with that support. Obviously, it's not unlimited. We've got to cut our cloth accordingly.”
Transfer rumours and targets
McInnes has already signed Lawrence Shankland, Ben Godfrey, Dan Neil, Ross McCrorie, goalkeeper Ivor Pandur, and Cammy Devlin this summer. He acknowledged that some transfer rumours are accurate while others are not. “There's a few of the lads that we have been linked with that wouldn't be far away from the truth, but there's also a few that aren't,” he said.
McInnes remains confident that the squad will look different by the time the transfer window closes. “Ideally, we'd be as ready as we could be for the first game proper against Dundee United,” he said. “But the squad that it looks like now, to the squad that it looks like when the window closes, I think will be a wee bit different.”
