Glasgow Rangers’ transfer model over the years has been remarkably inconsistent, with players arriving from various leagues and countries to different degrees of success.
One area tends to stand out, however, and that is south of the border. Since the Light Blues secured promotion in 2016, very few players have arrived from England and shone.
Of course, there have been a few exceptions, such as Joe Aribo, Calvin Bassey and Connor Goldson, but the overwhelming majority failed to shine.
Joey Barton, Jordan Rossiter and Matt Crooks arrived in the summer of 2016, but they all struggled in Glasgow. As did Graham Dorrans and Declan John, who signed the following season.
Elsewhere, Ben Davies, Tom Lawrence and George Edmundson failed to transition well from English football, never quite living up to expectations north of the border.
While there have been a few successes, Martin must tread carefully in English waters, especially if he wishes to sign players who will improve the squad.
Emmanuel Fernandez has been signed from Peterborough, but first impressions suggest he could turn out to be like Bassey rather than another Davies.
One of the worst signings made by Rangers in recent years is Kieran Dowell. The midfielder was brought to Glasgow by Michael Beale in the summer of 2023, but he turned out to be a waste of a wage.
Kieran Dowell's dismal Rangers record
On the surface, securing Dowell’s signature on a free transfer appeared to be a decent bit of business for the club.
The midfielder made his breakthrough with Everton, playing twice in the Premier League during the 2015/16 season.
Loan spells with Nottingham Forest, Derby, Wigan and Sheffield United saw him prove his worth in the second tier and he eventually made the move to Norwich City in 2020.
He made 75 appearances for the Canaries between 2020 and 2023, which included 19 games in the top flight, before swapping East Anglia for Glasgow.
The attacking midfielder won the U20 World Cup with England in 2017, before making 16 appearances for the U21s, but a senior cap never came.
Metric
2023/24
2024/25
Goals
2
0
Assists
2
0
Big chances created
1
3
Touches per game
33.8
16.6
Key passes per game
0.7
0.7
A move to Rangers was the chance for Dowell to reinvent himself, but he didn’t get the chance. Indeed, the 27-year-old played just 16 times for the club during the 2023/24 campaign.
The first half of 2024/25 saw Dowell feature 17 times for the Ibrox side, yet only three of those came in the starting XI, and he was loaned to Birmingham City for the second half of the season.
Across his 12 Premiership matches last term, he created just three big chances, while winning less than 50% of his total duels per game and averaging 16.6 touches per match.
Dowell spent the second half of last season out on loan at Birmingham City, helping them return to the Championship.
With Martin needing to move players on this summer, the former Everton starlet must surely be offloaded in order to raise funds and free up the wage bill.
In the future, the Gers must be wary of the English market, but it looks as though they have been linked with another midfielder from down south recently…
Rangers eyeing up move for former West Brom midfielder
Both Joe Rothwell and Fernandez have secured moves to Rangers over the previous few days, as Martin seeks to bolster his first-team squad.
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He won’t be finished there, however, especially with major surgery required this summer.
Luton Town’s Norwegian midfielder Thelo Aasgaard is reportedly in talks with a move to Ibrox according to the Scotsman, while Nasser Djiga of Wolves is also another transfer target.
A new name has appeared, according to Sports Boom, with former West Bromwich Albion midfielder John Swift reportedly being eyed for a move north of the border in the coming weeks.
The Englishman – who is also attracting interest from a raft of EFL clubs – is out of contract and wouldn’t cost the club a penny should he move to Glasgow.
Given the fact Martin has already signed Rothwell, plus is looking to bring Aasgaard to Scotland, a swoop for Swift certainly appears unnecessary.
Indeed, he could turn out to be another Dowell-like signing. A player who fails to truly showcase his true class if he made the move to Rangers.
Why Rangers should avoid a move for John Swift
Swift did impress significantly at Reading, having made the move from Chelsea in 2016. Across 202 games for the club, he scored 34 goals and grabbed 37 assists in all competitions.
His form saw Leeds prepare a bid for the midfielder in 2019 and journalist Billy Meyers even said that Swift is the “perfect type of player that Bielsa should be targeting” upon the link. Former Baggies boss Tony Mowbray has also hailed him as an “amazing footballer” at his best.
While his numbers in the second tier have been decent – 15 goal contributions in 2022/23 and ten during 2023/24 – the midfielder is now 30 and isn’t exactly at his peak.
Last season, he only managed three goals and one assist for the Baggies in 36 league matches. Furthermore, he only created one big chance last term for the club, while averaging just 0.3 dribbles and one key pass per game in the second tier.
He even ranked in the lowest 30% for progressive carries (1.55) and successful take-ons (0.62) per 90 when compared to his positional peers in the Championship last term.
Additionally, Swift also ranked in the lowest 23% for assists (0.05) and in the lowest 8% for touches in the attacking penalty area (1.6) per 90 for West Brom.
Considering he spent the campaign playing as an attacking midfielder, these figures are worrying, to say the least. As such, avoiding a move for Swift, despite the fact he is available for free, is perhaps the best course of action.
Martin will be able to use that sort of wage on a player or two who are not only younger, but who could potentially make the Gers a profit in the years to come.
Swift could turn into Dowell 2.0, that’s for sure.
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