After a summer rebuild, Philippe Clement takes over a Rangers team that should be well-balanced and in good shape; if anything, it is in worse shape than when the exodus started at the end of the previous campaign.
At the end of 2023–2024, seven players will have their contracts expire, and it will be up to the decision-makers to decide which of them should get new offers.
Making this decision will be simple for many, but Philippe Clement must determine who has a future at Rangers and who doesn’t.
Philippe Clement must decide on his Rangers contract.
Initially, since every player is older than thirty, none of them will have a genuine sell-on value to safeguard.
The new Gers manager will, at the absolute least, be able to get rid of some old, ineffective players from the team and replace them with younger, more experienced players who can be vital to his revolution.
Should Philippe Clement choose not to extend the contracts of Steven Davis, Borna Barisic, Leon Balogun, Ryan Jack, Jon McLaughlin, Kemar Roofe, and John Lundstram, Salary Sport estimates that he could free up about £75,000 from Rangers’ wage bill.
Accepting that Davis, Balogun, and McLaughlin won’t be with the team next season—at least not in a playing role—cuts that list down from seven to four pretty quickly.
Roofe is not Clement’s type in that he is simply unreliable when it comes to fitness.
Three names remain because his chronic calf issues haven’t been resolved by a last-resort hip operation, and it would be risky to offer him a new arrangement.
Lundstram, Jack, and Barisic.
The future of Ridvan Yilmaz may determine how much it costs to replace Barisic with a better player, but it isn’t a top concern.
Give him one more year, but in case something goes wrong, find a replacement.
Jack has additional complexity.
Given his past performance, his availability has been decent, but the incompetence of his former managers could result in him being offered a new contract. In summary, Ryan Jack is needed by Philippe Clement’s Rangers team to help meet UEFA quotas because the Rangers roster lacks enough homegrown players. John Lundstram is the only one among the seven players receiving a new contract. Outstanding since Clement’s arrival, he has assumed more responsibility and appears to be flourishing under the Belgian’s more assertive style.
The Rangers squad Philippe Clement inherited presents a challenge, but choosing a team each week isn’t the only important decision he must make.