Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement was unable to end the club's run of years without a Scottish Premiership title at Ibrox as he guided his team to second this season.
The Belgian manager, who replaced Michael Beale in the dugout earlier this term, did win the League Cup but failed to stop Celtic from securing the title.
They have now gone three years without lifting the Scottish top-flight and will be hoping to end that barren run with a huge 2024/25 campaign.
In order to do so, the Gers manager and head of recruitment Nils Koppen will need to nail the upcoming summer transfer window to make the changes needed to oust their rivals out of the way.
Former Rangers head coaches and sporting directors have made their fair share of transfer blunders and mistakes when selecting and making new signings.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ross Wilson combined to make a particularly memorable – for the wrong reasons – addition to the Gers squad when they signed Aaron Ramsey from Juventus on loan in 2022.
Aaron Ramsey's time with Rangers in numbers
The Scottish giants swooped in to sign the Wales international from the Italian side in January 2022 to bolster their midfield for the second half of the campaign under the Dutch head coach.
Michael Bridge told GIVEMESPORT that the Gers splashed out a loan fee of around £2m to sign the central midfielder for just five months, whilst The Athletic reported that they only paid a fraction of his wages – reported to be a staggering £400k-per-week.
This means that Rangers paid in excess of £2m to sign the experienced midfielder, who had only played five times for Juventus during the first half of the season, for a matter of months.
He did not turn out to be value for money, though, as the ex-Arsenal ace only made 13 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues, whilst either being an unused substitute or missing out on the matchday squad on 15 occasions.
Appearances
7
Starts
5
Goals
2
Assists
1
Ground duel success rate
43%
Pass accuracy
83%
As you can see in the table above, the Welsh flop did not have much of an impact in the Premiership with just five starts in five months at the club.
His last touch in a Gers shirt was one that not many fans will forget, but many may want to, as it was a missed penalty in a 5-4 shootout defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League final – the only player to miss on the night.
Overall, it was an expensive disaster for Rangers as they tried to revive Ramsey's career after his struggles at Juventus and ended up paying the price, on and off the pitch, with an expensive outlay and little return in terms of the quality of his performances.
Clement is now at risk of signing his own version of Ramsey at Ibrox amid a report linking the club with a move for a current Premier League midfielder.
Rangers interest in England international midfielder
According to HITC, Rangers and Celtic are both interested in a possible swoop to sign Manchester City flop Kalvin Phillips in the upcoming summer transfer window.
The report claimed that the Old Firm sides are keen on the England international, who has not made the most recent squad for his country, as the Premier League champions are prepared to subsidise his wages, as Juventus were with Ramsey.
Leeds and Everton are also said to be keen on the English enforcer and it remains to be seen whether or not the Cityzens dud would be interested in a move to Scotland.
Meanwhile, teams in Europe, including RB Leipzig, Nice, Sevilla, and Lyon are also interested in the former Leeds star, as they all look to revive his career.
The outlet also did not state whether or not any club would need to pay a loan fee for the 28-year-old midfielder, who spent the second half of this season on loan with West Ham United in the Premier League.
Clement and Koppen must now avoid the race for his signature as it could turn out to be an expensive mistake, particularly if they have to end up paying a loan fee and even a fraction of his £150k-per-week wages.
Why Kalvin Phillips could be the next Aaron Ramsey
The 5 foot 10 dud could be the next Ramsey for Rangers as he has not played regular football over the last two seasons and has struggled in his short time on the pitch.
Phillips has only played 24 Premier League games since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, with eight of those coming on loan with the Hammers during the second half of this season.
In his outings in the English top-flight this term, the experienced midfielder struggled badly and failed to prove that his career is on course for a revival.
Over last 365 days, Phillips ranks within the bottom 1% of midfielders in the Men's Big 5 Leagues and European competitions for Expected Assisted Goals per 90 (0.00), as he failed to create a single chance for his teammates in the Premier League during the 2023/24 campaign.
Appearances
12
Starts
3
Goals + assists
0
Key passes
0
Duel success rate
48%
Error led to goal
1
Penalties committed
1
Meanwhile, the English flop made one error that directly led to a goal for the opposition, with Dominic Solanke scoring from his poor backpass, and he gave away a penalty for the Hammers.
This, essentially, means that the Man City loanee created two more chances for West Ham's opponents than he did for his own teammates from a midfield position.
Phillips, who was dubbed "so poor" for the Hammers by journalist Josh Bunting, is coming off the back of two difficult seasons and Rangers should not be taking another expensive risk on an experienced big name on sizeable wages, as they did with Ramsey.
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If it does not work out then it is simply money down the drain and the player returns to his parent club, whereas if they spend that money on a permanent and younger alternative then there is long-term potential and resale value for the Gers.
