Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement had plenty of work to do during the summer transfer window, mainly getting high earners off the wage bill in order to rebuild his squad and sign his own targets.
It is certainly a work in progress, with the Belgian coming in for some criticism about how his team have performed this term, especially domestically. Indeed. The Light Blues have scored only 16 goals in 11 Premiership matches, the same as tenth-placed St Johnstone.
Moving on those who weren’t contributing is a start, but will it guarantee long-term success?
How Rangers reduced their wage bill
As the 2023/24 campaign was approaching the end, Clement had five players who were heading into the final few weeks of their contracts.
It remained to be seen just who the Belgian would keep at the club, but in the end, Kemar Roofe, Borna Barisic, John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and Jon McLaughlin were all told they would be free to find a new club.
This saved the club around £83k-per-week, allowing Clement some flexibility in the market.
Despite this, there is still a player who is currently on the wage bill, despite being loaned out and it is clear he should be sold at the earliest opportunity – Ben Davies.
Ben Davies’ numbers in his Rangers career
Davies joined the Light Blues from Liverpool in a deal worth £4m two summers ago as Giovanni van Bronckhorst aimed to bolster a squad which had won the Scottish Cup and reached the Europa League final.
He endured a difficult start, missing several games due to injury, but by the end of the campaign, the Englishman had made 38 appearances as the club failed to win a trophy.
The defender came in for criticism following a 3-2 defeat to Celtic which practically ended the Gers title hopes, failing to clear the ball, which allowed the Parkhead side to score an easy goal.
Former Light Blues striker Kenny Miller lashed out at Davies for his error, saying: “It’s a wonderful finish. Again he’s alert, alive, ruthless when the chance drops. But it’s so poor from Ben Davies. He should be heading that out.”
Ben Davies’ Premiership stats for Rangers | ||
|---|---|---|
Metric (per 90) | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Accurate passes | 50.7 | 58 |
Tackles | 0.9 | 1.1 |
Interceptions | 0.8 | 0.8 |
Possession lost | 7.4 | 12.1 |
Total duels won | 3.7 | 5.3 |
Last season, Davies made just 17 appearances for the club as it became clear Clement didn’t see a future for him in Glasgow.
Over these two years, however, he has cost the Ibrox side a fortune.
How much Rangers wasted on Ben Davies
The former Liverpool defender earned £27k-per-week during his two seasons with the club, which was more than the likes of Jack Butland and Abdallah Sima.
He even took home more per week than big-money forward Danilo, who had cost Michael Beale £6m in 2023, proving just how much money was wasted on the centre-back.
Adding his £4m transfer fee to the £2.8m that he received in annual wages during 2022/23 and 2023/24 shows that the club have spent a total of £6.8m on the player.
It is yet another case of splurging on someone who failed to live up to the hype. Hopefully, Clement will avoid moves like these.
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