An update has emerged on Rangers’ financial situation that could impact potential head coach Gio van Bronckhorst…

What’s the talk?

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has warned Gers fans to expect the sales of some of their top players due to loans owed to directors.

Maguire believes that Rangers will need to follow their bitter rivals Celtic in terms of the way they develop players and sell them on for big fees in order to be sustainable.

He told Football Insider:

“Most of the loans from directors are on lengthy terms.

“So there is no short-term cash flow stresses. But they will have to embrace the player trading model that Celtic have, i.e to expect sales.

“John Bennett knows they don’t have to sell players but that it would be silly not to if they receive a good offer. I don’t think there’s any need to worry about those loans being repaid. I think the big issue was dealing with Dave King. That loan has now been repaid.

“The investors have been very benevolent to date. But they don’t have investors of the same magnitude as some Premier League clubs. So these people are entitled to an interest-based return on their investment because they are helping the club cover its running costs.”

Disastrous

Rangers are reportedly closing in on a deal to bring van Bronckhorst to the club to replace Steven Gerrard and Maguire’s comments suggest that he could be walking into an instant problem at Ibrox. It could be disastrous for the Dutchman if the Gers end up needing to cash in on some of their top performers in the January or summer transfer windows.

9min have reported this week that Steven Gerrard already has his eyes on a number of Rangers players to potentially sign for Aston Villa. Ryan Kent, Borna Barisic, Glen Kamara and Nathan Patterson are believed to be on his radar, which shows that there is interest in Gers stars from elsewhere and they could be placed in a position where it is hard to ignore.

If Villa, or any other club for that matter, come in with a big offer for a player like Kent or Barisic, these comments from Maguire suggest that they may be forced to listen to them. This, in turn, will mean that van Bronckhorst may need to deal with his key players leaving and being replaced on a regular basis in the future, particularly if Rangers adopt a selling mentality.

The club’s Old Firm rivals found life difficult under their new boss in the early stages of the campaign, being dumped out of the Champions League after losing star men Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer. That, therefore, serves as an example that Rangers cannot afford to replicate.

It could be disastrous for Rangers and van Bronckhorst unless it is managed correctly, as replacing them could be very difficult. Selling players in the summer window would be the preferred way to go about it as January offers the club less time to source new signings, whilst competitive matches are also being played during the month.

Either way, these comments will be concerning to the Dutchman and could leave him with some immediate problems to solve at Ibrox…

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