Rangers could be set for heartbreak in their chase to sign a new striker in a big-money deal this summer, according to a BBC Radio Scotland commentator.
Rangers ready for change
Despite their strong campaign under Philippe Clement, Rangers look ready for serious personnel change this summer. Several stars including Borna Barisic and Ryan Jack are out of contract, while speculation continues to surround Jack Butland’s future after missing out on the England squad for the March internationals.
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Rangers might be in a spot of bother if this comes to fruition.
But they may not be the only exits, as it is now believed a move to make Fabio Silva’s loan spell into a permanent deal will come at too great a cost.
Update on Fabio Silva’s Rangers future
That comes as a BBC pundit has effectively ruled out a move to keep Silva at the club beyond this summer. The Portuguese striker joined Rangers on loan in January as a replacement for Sam Lammers, and has scored two goals in nine Scottish Premiership outings, admitting he wants to stay at Rangers long-term.
“I’m loving being here”, he told the media earlier in March. “I don’t control these things 100%. It’s not 100% my decision to stay, if it was up to me then maybe yes. But I could say ‘yes’ and then you have a lot of things still to be taken care of.
“Perhaps I have the least input into whether I stay here but we have two months to enjoy the football, to win titles and I think after that, if we win trophies and everything goes well, Rangers and I will do everything for me to stay.”
“When you see me playing with a smile on my face, I think everything’s going the right way. I enjoy playing here, playing for the fans, the staff, my team-mates.”
However, he did recognise it would be a tricky move to pull off permanently, and that appears to now have been confirmed.
BBC commentator Derek Ferguson has revealed that while he is sure Rangers would ‘absolutely’ love to sign Silva on a permanent basis, the Scottish giants are unlikely to be able to afford to do so.
“But the money, honestly, I don’t think Rangers are going to be able to afford him, which is a real, real shame. Would we want him at Rangers? Absolutely. Can we afford him? I don’t think so.”
Having been signed for £35m from FC Porto back in 2020, Silva will have two years left to run on his deal at Molineux come the summer. Though Wolves are almost certain to take a hefty loss on the 21-year-old, they are likely to demand a significant fee for a player who has his best years firmly in front of him and is continuing to improve.
That will be too rich for Rangers, who would almost certainly have to smash their 24-year-old transfer record to get a deal over the line.
Rangers’ record signings | |||
Player | Left | Year | Fee |
Tore Andre Flo | Chelsea | 2000 | £15m |
Michael Ball | Everton | 2001 | £8.3m |
Mikel Arteta | Barcelona | 2002 | £6.8m |
Arthur Numan | PSV | 1998 | £6.5m |
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst | Feyenoord | 1998 | £6.3m |
Barry Ferguson | Blakburn Rovers | 2004 | £6m |
As the old saying goes, never fall in love with a loan player. Rangers fans will be hoping that they haven’t allowed themselves to get too attached to Silva given the likely outcome.
