Where Danilo will rank amongst Rangers all-time record signings
If reports from the Netherlands are to be believed, Rangers are on the verge of finally completing a deal to land Brazilian striker Danilo from Feyenoord.
Assuming the deal goes smoothly from this point out, then it will mark a serious show of intent from the club with a fee of up to £6m being reported by The Rangers Review.
Such a fee would put the forward in amongst Rangers top five most expensive outlays of all-time, and would be just the second time in the last two decades that the club have broken £5m on a player.
So what illustrious company is Danilo set to join? Here are Rangers’ record signings to-date.
1. Tore Andre Flo – £12m
It’s been nearly 23 years since Rangers shattered the Scottish transfer record on Norwegian forward Tore Andre Flo in late 2000, it remains a record that looks unlikely to be topped in the immediate fee.
Having developed a knack at Chelsea for scoring against the top teams in Europe such as Barcelona and Manchester United, big things were expected of Flo having hit double figures in each of his three seasons in England’s top flight.
Despite a decent enough return of 34 goals in 68 games, he struggled to live up to the lofty heights that came with such a transfer fee, and would eventually lose his place in the team in his second season following the arrival of Alex McLeish as manager.
He’d soon return to England to Sunderland in a move worth £6.75m after just 18 months in Govan, but he’s career would decline from this point on.
Now managing in his home country with Sogndal.
2. Ryan Kent – £6.5m
One whose Rangers career recently ended on a sour note, you can’t really fault the overall impact Kent made when looking across the full of his tenure at the club.
Having impressed during a loan spell in 2018/19, which also involved a well-remembered on-field slap to then-Celtic captain Scott Brown, Rangers and Steven Gerrard ended a summer long pursuit by bringing in Kent on transfer deadline day in the biggest deal at Ibrox in 17 years.
He’d go on to contribute a total of 33 goals and 56 assists during this time in Scotland, playing a vital part in the club winning their 55th league title and looking unplayable at times during the run to the Europa League final in 2022, in particular over both legs against Borussia Dortmund.
Despite this, Kent’s final years at the club were often blighted by a lack of end product, and a habit of hiding in big games that he once thrived in.
Once labelled the club’s most prized asset, he’d depart this summer with his contract expiring, joining Fenerbahce on a free transfer, meaning that despite all his success, he ended up losing the club a good bit of money in the whole.
3. Michael Ball – £6.5m
A strange one when you look back at it. Just months after making his England debut, Rangers would offer Michael Ball a lucrative deal to move up North despite interest from clubs in England.
On paper, it seemed a deal that suited all parties, with Everton getting a good fee to help with their financial issues at the time, with Rangers getting one of the most talented young left backs in England at the time.
Sadly, things wouldn’t go to plan for Ball, as his first few months at Ibrox would be best remembered by a touchline argument with Dick Advocaat following his substitution in a 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park which landed him a £10k fine.
Injury would soon follow, ruling him out for 18 months and the entirety of the treble winning 2002/03 campaign. He would eventually regain his place and some form in the season after, but his time at Rangers would again be curtailed due to a clause in his original deal meaning Rangers would have to pay an additional fee to Everton should be reach 60 appearances.
Would eventually be shipped off to PSV for £500k in the summer of 2005 as the club looked to reduce the wage bill.
4. Mikel Arteta – £6m
Better known now as the manager leading the revival of Arsenal in North London, it was at Ibrox that Mikel Arteta really first broke on the scene.
Having impressed the Rangers hierarchy during a loan spell at PSG from Barcelona, he’d arrive at Glasgow in the summer of 2002 and quickly form a regular midfield partnership with captain Barry Ferguson.
Despite being just 21 at the time, he was trusted that season with taking the penalty which wrapped up the club’s 50th league title on the final day of that season.
With Ferguson leaving for Blackburn, Arteta would be become the main man in the middle of the park in his second season, doubling his goal tally from the season before to eight despite it being a less successful one for the club as a whole.
He’d end up with 14 goals in 68 appearances before moving to Real Sociedad in 2004 for just over 5 million Euros, before going on to have a successful career in England with Everton and Arsenal.
5. Andrei Kanchelskis – £5.5m
Just three years after being Manchester United’s top scorer in the 1994-95 season, Russian Andrei Kanchelskis would make the move to Rangers as part of Dick Advocaat’s summer revamp of the club following the winger’s injury hit spell in Italy with Fiorentina.
He’d go on to have a pivotal role as the club secured a domestic treble in 1999, contributing nine goals in 45 games.
Despite initially losing his place in the side the following season, he’d still managed to chip in with a further five goals in all competitions before a falling out with Advocaat and a bust-up with team mate Fernando Ricksen in 2000 was ultimately the beginning of the end of his time at Ibrox.
A technically skilful player with an eye for the showboat, his time at Rangers is best remembered for a stunning volley in the mould of Marco Van Basten in a win over Dunfermline in 1999, as well as balancing on the ball to salute in a 7-0 Scottish Cup Semi Final win over Ayr.
6. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst – £5.5m
Like with Kent before, another whose reputation with the club may be damaged amongst some but his overall impact can’t be questioned.
The then-23 year old Van Bronckhorst arrived at Ibrox alongside Kanchelskis in 1998 and would make an instant impact, playing a vital role in his debut match as Rangers came from 3-0 down to win 5-3 against Shelbourne in a UEFA Cup qualifying match.
16 goals from midfield would come in his first two seasons before injury saw him miss a large portion of the unsuccessful 2000/01 campaign before he netted the club a nice profit with a £8.5m move to Arsenal.
A successful career would follow as he adapted from midfield to left back, featuring heavily in a Barcelona side that won the Champions League in 2006 as well as captaining The Netherlands to the World Cup final in 2010.
A move into management with boyhood club Feyenoord would see him lead the side to their first league title in 18 years in 2017. Of course, he’d make his return to Ibrox in late-2021, replacing Steven Gerrard as manager and, despite missing out on retaining the title, led the club to a Europa League final and Scottish Cup victory.
Things soon turned sour though for Gio, as he was sacked after just a year in the role following poor league form and a dismal Champions League campaign.