THE final days of the summer transfer window next week should prove to be relatively stress free for Rangers supporters.
There was a flurry of fresh speculation about Glen Kamara last Saturday when the midfielder was not included in the squad for the cinch Premiership game against Hibernian at Easter Road.
The Finnish midfielder was linked with Brighton in England, Nice in France, Salernitana in Italy as well as Besiktas and Galatasaray in Turkey as rumours ran rife about his absence.
But is Kamara, or any of his team mates for that matter, really going to pass up the chance to play against Ajax, Liverpool or Napoli in the Champions League group stages in the coming months?
Nothing is impossible in Planet Football. Ultimately, money talks in the modern professional game. Rangers could make a multi-million pound profit on a player they paid just £50,000 for three-and-a-half years ago if they so desired.
It would, however, be a major surprise if a player who started in the 1-0 play-off won over PSV Eindhoven in the Philips Stadium on Wednesday evening and performed with maturity and assurance is sold.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst does not exactly have an abundance of options in the middle of the park and will be keen to hold on to a man who he named in his starting line-up in the Europa League final in Seville back in May.
If anything, Van Bronckhorst, whose transfer budget has been boosted considerably by the momentous midweek triumph, is more likely to add to his squad than allow any key players to leave.
Rangers supporters, then, would appear to have little to fear on deadline day. There is more chance of them celebrating an expensive new arrival than bemoaning a significant departure. They have good reason to do “The Bouncy” these days.
Could, though, their Dutch manager be targeted and lured away by richer clubs in larger European leagues in the not-too-distant future as a result of his achievements in Govan?
The remarkable job he has done since succeeding Steven Gerrard – who was headhunted by Aston Villa after lifting the Scottish tilte and reaching the knockout rounds of the Europa League in consecutive seasons – back in November will certainly not have gone unnoticed.
Valentijn Driessen, the prominent Dutch football journalist and commentator, compared his countryman to Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti in the wake of Rangers’ victory over PSV.
It is quite a duo to be bracketed alongside. French legend Zidane led Real Madrid to three Champions League titles in his first spell in charge at the Bernabeu. Italian managerial great Ancelotti lifted that trophy with the Spanish behemoths for a record fourth time last season.
But could either man have pulled off what Van Bronckhorst has since arriving in Govan? They are used to working with, no disrespect to Borna Barisic, Scott Wright and Fashion Sakala, a far higher calibre of footballer.
The side that defeated RB Leipzig in the Europa League semi-final back in April cost less than £13m to assemble. And Ryan Kent cost more than the 13 other players involved in the 3-1 second leg triumph put together.
The Rangers recruitment team must take great credit for what was accomplished in that competition. It was Moneyball and then some. Still, Gerrard arguably had a stronger squad at his disposal during his tenure and he, as well as he did, proved unable to make it beyond the last 16.
His successor has proved himself to be a tactically astute coach who can turn around games against far, on paper at least, superior opponents with inspired changes in formation and often unexpected personnel switches.
Rangers were, despite missing no fewer than three centre backs and only having one specialist striker, worthy winners against PSV in the Netherlands in midweek. The final scoreline flattered their hosts.
Van Bronckhorst is at his best when under intense pressure, has made players like Joe Aribo, Kamara, John Lundstram and James Tavernier even better and taken Rangers to another level.
The former Feyenoord manager, a Champions League winner with Barcelona in his playing days and a World Cup finalist with the Netherlands, will be getting closely monitored closely by clubs across the continent because of the qualities he has shown.
Domestically, last season was a bitter disappointment for him. Yes, Rangers beat Celtic and then Hearts to lift the Scottish Cup for the first time in 13 years. But the less said about their Premiership exploits the better.
They squandered a comfortable lead and allowed their city rivals to reclaim the Scottish title. A vast improvement is expected and required on the home front this term. But he has previously lifted the Eredivisie in his homeland. If he can reclaim the league trophy come May his stock will rise further.
Van Bronckhorst is content at Ibrox and satisfied with the players who have been brought in this summer. After a difficult year at Guangzhou R&F in China in 2020 and then a year out of football he is in no hurry to leave. But he was always eager to move on and prove himself on a greater stage as a player.
If he is courted by an English, German, Italian or Spanish suitor, and that is not beyond the realms of possibility given the increasingly transient nature of his profession, in the months ahead he could well be seriously tempted.
