Rangers buck recent trend with transfer activity as Michael Beale stays true to his word

Rangers manager Michael Beale was bold in setting out the timescale for turning around his squad months ago.

As a bitter campaign drew towards its conclusion with a playing pool drained of a future, the Englishman regularly sought to provide a sweetener. The firm intention, he would state, was that he would be able to look out on the personnel in front of him on the first day of pre-season and be content by the club’s summer transfer activities. Beale then seemed to be leaving himself a hostage to fortune. In recent years, the Ibrox side have been anything but quick off the mark in their close season recruitment drives.

Not so this time around. It is possible that when Rangers reassemble in just under a fortnight to prepare for the forthcoming season, the collection of new faces that will confront him on the training pitch will provide compelling evidence Beale very much was a man with a plan in projecting forward as his club digested a trophyless term. The 42-year-old said this week that his squad reconstruction was “ahead of schedule”, the assessment offered up on the back of completing a £3.5million deal for Dutch striker Sam Lammers. It is a move that makes the 26-year-old the club’s fourth signing this month following the snapping up of a trio of free agents in the form of midfielder Kieran Dowell, full-back Dujon Sterling and keeper Jack Butland.

Granted, the requirement for Beale to reinforce all departments of his squad was rendered imperative by the year zero approach that underpinned cutting ties with Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield and Filip Helander on the expiry of their contracts. However, that doesn’t provide the full context as to how Rangers are going about their market manouvering in a fashion distinctly at odds from recent years. Especially when deals for Cremonese forward Cyriel Dessers and Ecuadorian midfielder Jose Cifuentes seem to be bubbling away, just as a pursuit of Nottingham Forest defender Jonathan Panzo also gaining traction.

Sam Lammers, right, has arrived at Ibrox to bolster Rangers' attacking options.

It is eminently possible Rangers could have six new faces in their ranks before kicking off their pre-season programme on June 28. At the same juncture a year ago, John Souttar was a man alone in that bracket, his switch from Hearts secured courtesy of a pre-contract agreement signed five months earlier. Not until well into July were Antonio Colak, Tom Lawrence, Rabbie Matondo and Malik Tillman recruited.

In the summer of 2021, Rangers’ tardiness appeared even more extreme. The club embarked on preparations for the defence of their title with only Fashion Sakala – a freedom of contract arrival – bolstering their options. Only for these not to be subsequently greatly strengthened. John Lundstram arrived on July 5, but not until three weeks into the campaign did they make – what was then considered – a notable capture in forking out £2m for Juninho Bacuna. This pattern also played out in the early close season moves in 2020. Only keeper Jon McLaughlin was in place for the entirety of pre-season, deals costing £7m not struck for strikers Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe until the first week in August.

Only time will tell if Beale has conducted profitable business, but it surely will be heartening to the Rangers faithful that he has been powering ahead to cover all bases in a manner giving him as much time as possible on the training pitch for successful integration.