Rangers Transfer Shake-Up: McInnes Eyes Four New Signings

Rangers are braced for a frantic final month of the transfer window, with Derek McInnes pushing for as many as four new arrivals – but only once a wave of departures clears the way.

The Ibrox rebuild has already begun. Olwethu Makhanya has checked in from Philadelphia Union to bolster the back line, yet the door has been swinging the other way just as quickly. Oliver Antman has completed his move to Anderlecht, while Nedim Bajrami is closing in on a switch to the Saudi Pro League, stripping McInnes of options in both attack and midfield.

This is not a gentle tweak. It is a reset.

Width, goals and urgency

McInnes has made his priorities plain: Rangers need power and punch out wide. The manager wants two wingers through the door before the window shuts, a clear admission that the current squad lacks the pace and creativity he demands on the flanks.

Rangers are “desperate” for greater firepower in those areas, and the timing matters. With the Premiership campaign starting on Friday night away to Dundee United at Tannadice, the manager is pushing for deals to be done quickly enough for new faces to bed in before the schedule tightens at home and in Europe.

Every day lost now will be felt in October and November.

Defensive rebuild on the cards

The search does not stop with wingers. Defensive reinforcements sit just as high on McInnes’ list. Two more defenders are being targeted, with the situation around John Souttar sharpening that need.

Souttar is widely expected to move on, and his exit would leave a sizeable gap in central defence. Makhanya’s arrival helps, but it does not close the book. Rangers want depth and competition at the back, aware that a long campaign can punish any weakness in that department.

The message is clear: the back line will not be allowed to stand still.

Midfield moves hinge on exits

In midfield, the picture is more nuanced. Another central midfielder is not currently at the top of the agenda. Any move there depends on who leaves.

The futures of Connor Barron, Mo Diomande and, most significantly, Nico Raskin will dictate what happens next. Interest in Jens Herto Dahl of Tromso has cooled for now, with Rangers effectively hitting pause until they know whether space – and money – will open up in the middle of the park.

If Raskin goes, everything changes.

The Belgian is the club’s most valuable asset in this window, rated at more than £20 million. Villarreal and other European sides remain seriously interested, and a sale at that level would inject a major financial boost into McInnes’ plans. It would also force a recalibration of the midfield, both in terms of personnel and style.

Letting Raskin leave would be painful. It could also be transformative.

Clock ticking as season kicks off

The urgency is not theoretical anymore. Rangers walk out at Tannadice on Friday to open their Premiership campaign, with McInnes inheriting a squad very much in transition.

The summer has already delivered change, but the manager believes the job is far from finished. With just over a month left in the window, the club’s focus has narrowed: quality and depth on the wings, steel and cover at the back, and midfield business dictated by who is sold.

Supporters know what is at stake. They want to see those promised signings arrive in time to influence the early weeks, not simply plug gaps once the season has already taken shape.

Rangers will continue to be backed by the 49ers as this reshaping gathers pace. The question now is not whether McInnes will remodel this squad – it is how radically he chooses to do it before the window slams shut.