Rangers Sporting Director, Ross Wilson, this week took part in a question and answer session via the club’s Youth Development Company Twitter feed and in it he gave an insight into his role at the club.
There has been a notable shift in transfer strategy since he arrived from Southampton including deals that have seen players exit with sell on clauses and loan signings arrive with pre-arranged options to buy built into the arrangement.
We at Vital Rangers managed to get a question into Wilson in which he was asked the following:
What would you rather do:
a) sign a targeted player on a pre-contract agreement
Or
b) sign a targeted player on an initial loan with option to buy, and why?
In the video of the session he first of all said “Both!” reaffirming his desire to see best value achieved for Rangers with every transfer he makes and that if the opportunity is there to make a move – and it is the right one for the club – he won’t be afraid to make it.
Expanding on his answer, he revealed that having a calculated approach is the most important factor and that the research must have been done into individual players:
“In an ideal world I’d sign two players (as long as we need two and they fit our strategy!).
“The two examples you mentioned are both important to us but they key word you mentioned is targeted. That needs to mean we have done the work and followed the clear strategy and process to get to the signing stage on those two examples.”
A small if fascinating insight into how the club now operates in the transfer market, gone are the gambles of Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera or the cheap SPFL options from Mark Allen’s era and we now have an approach that is tailored to meet the needs of Steven Gerrard – if they meet the strategy that is in place – proving that we are finally in safe hands both on and off the pitch.