Glasgow Rangers have significantly strengthened their squad throughout the summer, adding players such as Jack Butland and Cyriel Dessers, while freeing up some of the wage budget by releasing Allan McGregor, Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos.
This business by Michael Beale could perhaps be the catalyst which launches a fresh era for Rangers as they look to get back to winning domestic trophies on a regular basis.
Give or take another couple of signings, the vast majority of Beale’s transfer business has been completed early, allowing him to get new players bedded in ahead of the challenges that await.
The onus will now be to ship players out of the Ibrox exit door. Scott Wright looks set to join Turkish side Pendikspor while Glen Kamara is attracting interest from Leeds United with a fee of £4m looking to be finalised for the transfer of the midfielder.
Another potential departure is that of Borna Barisic, as Premier League side Nottingham Forest are interested in luring him South of the border.
Former sporting director at the Gers, Ross Wilson, is looking to raid his former club and with the Croatian having just one year left on his deal, it could be the ideal chance to secure a decent fee for the player.
Ridvan Yilmaz could be set to take over as the first choice left back should he depart, having impressed at the back end of last season, yet Beale may have another player in mind in terms of long-term suitability for the role – Robbie Fraser.
Who is Robbie Fraser?
Yilmaz struggled largely during the majority of last season, missing 29 games through injury and starting only eight league matches.
He did show flashes of talent however, succeeding with 50% of his attempted dribbles, grabbing two assists and winning 62% of his ground duels, suggesting that he does enjoy pushing forward while remaining strong defensively.
He could go from strength to strength and if he hits his full potential, there will be big money offers from elsewhere for the Turkey international.
Robbie Fraser, the B team captain, certainly has what it takes to emerge from the academy and potentially stake a claim for first-team football as a long-term heir to Barisic.
There is no doubt the 20-year-old has the mentality to succeed, outlining his ambitions when signing a new contract in 2022, saying: “I feel like I’m getting closer to making that next step into the first team, hopefully. I felt that it was the right opportunity to push on.”
With seven assists and two goals across 40 games, the youngster has displayed the attacking qualities that have endeared Barisic to the Ibrox faithful, with the Croatian defender registering 57 goal involvements during his career in Scotland.
Like the 30-year-old, Fraser does enjoy taking the odd free-kick, scoring a “superb” effort in a match last year according to Jordan Campbell and this could also give Beale an added goal threat from set pieces.
Although yet to make his senior bow for the Light Blues, he did make the bench on three occasions last season, including for the tie against Ajax in the Champions League, showing that the club have plans for him going forward.
