Ross Wilson’s critics have gone pretty quiet over the last few days,
After finally adding much needed, and genuinely top class talent on the right wing and in midfield, the Rangers sporting director can be happy with his work in this transfer window.
Previous years have seen him add quality to the squad and it has to be remembered that in four of his five transfer windows since he arrived he has had to work within a restricted budget due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic – there is a reason why we aren’t going out and spending large sums on permanent deals that might not work out, the last books weren’t a figment of our imagination.
Speaking to Rangers TV about the signings made in January, Wilson reveals the flexibility and ingenuity that we have in our recruitment team now, the deals that have seen James Sands, John Souttar, Aaron Ramsey, Amad Diallo and Mateusz Zukowski arrive are all completely different, a mixture of loans, a loan with an option to buy, a pre-contract and and outright purchase for a significantly reduced fee.
But it is in the sale of Juninho Bacuna that Wilson proved his worth. Previously, we have seen players like Eduardo Herrera and Carlos Pena cost the club a fortune, we could have ended up paying millions to Huddersfield Town but have ended up making a profit for a player that barely kicked a ball, such was the way in which the deal to sign him from the Championship side was structured.
It all adds up, every penny, players like John Lundstram, Jack Simpson and Cedric Itten – if they are sold in the summer – should still see us better off collectively with the money reinvested into the squad, Ross Wilson has proven that, if you sign players on the right terms in the first place, you should never be out of pocket.