Rangers miss out on signing midfielder as Ibrox giants avoid repeat of John Souttar nightmare

Rangers miss out on signing midfielder as Ibrox giants avoid repeat of John Souttar nightmare
Rangers have made quite the habit of pre-contract deals over the years, with Lyall Cameron the latest to put pen to paper at Ibrox while still plying his trade elsewhere.
Cameron was freed up to open talks over a switch once the last of the Hootenany celebrations lit up the Glasgow night sky.
With his Dundee deal expiring in the summer, Nils Koppen raced to secure Rangers a ‘hugely important’ addition as one of the most promising homegrown talents in the Scottish game prepares to add a new, more box-to-box dimension to arguably often one-paced midfield.

Three years earlier, Rangers snapped up John Souttar from Hearts in similar circumstances. The big centre-back officially became a Ger in January of 2022, only to spend the final few months of that season at Tynecastle.

READ MORE: Rangers Contract Expiry Dates & Players Set For 2025 Exits
Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Sasa Zdjelar comments may explain why he didn’t wait for Rangers
Souttar’s eventual arrival in Glasgow would, however, be tempered by the ankle surgery he would undergo the following spring. He’d go on to start only one Premiership match in a Rangers shirt between August and April.

So that is the risk when signing a player on a pre-contract agreement. O

n the upside, you can usually avoid paying a fee, although Rangers will have to stump up compensation for Cameron. On the other, if Cameron was to suffer an ACL rupture or a broken leg – heaven forbid – there would be no getting out of a deal already green-lit.

That is a point Sasa Zdjelar is keen to make when explaining why he decided to leave CSKA Moscow for Zenit St Petersburg in the winter rather than risk waiting for the summer.

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According to reports, Rangers were eyeing CSKA Moscow enforcer Zdjelar, presumably with an eye on the summer and their sights firmly fixed on a freebie. By the time the Russian window closed – a few weeks after the shutters were brought down on the Premiership market – the 29-year-old Serbia international had sealed an immediate switch to title-chasing Zenit instead.

And, speaking to Championat, it was not only the chance to play for the biggest club in Russia which attracted Zdjelar to the Gazprom Arena. Had he waited for Rangers to formalise their interest, the former Partizan Belgrade man would have found himself at the mercy of the footballing gods.

And if they had decided in their wisdom to smite him with an injury, that could have left Zdjelar without a contract and without a club.

“I had three months left on my contract with CSKA,” Zdjelar says. “It could have been automatically extended if I had played a certain number of matches.

“But what if I get injured? You never know how your football life will turn out, and you can’t take risks.

“Moving to Zenit is a good step for my career, for my family. When the offer came, I immediately said yes. Zenit is the best club in Russia, I have already said this several times. I respect CSKA, but Zenit is the best.”

Barry Ferguson is a big fan of Ibrox-bound Lyall Cameron
Zdjelar is a more defensively-minded operator than Cameron. At his most effective at the base of a midfield rather than at the point of the diamond, Zdjelar may have been identified as someone capable of easing the ball-winning burden on an overworked Nico Raskin.

As for Cameron, interim boss Barry Ferguson has given a glowing verdict of the Rangers newbie already.

Whether Ferguson will be back at Ibrox long enough to work with Cameron up close, however, only time will tell.

“I think it is a brilliant piece of business,” Ferguson told Go Radio a month ago. “I’ve seen him plenty of times and I think he’s good enough to play at a club like Rangers.

“There is no doubt in my mind. 22 years of age, still his best football years in front of him and it is great to see that Rangers are looking at homegrown players from other teams.

“He certainly fits that bracket. I am excited to see him come in the summer. I am absolutely delighted because I think he can become a very important player for Rangers.”