Much has been made of Rangers summer transfer window, or more accurately, the lack of success it has delivered, particularly regarding the signings authorised by new Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell
A major overhaul was required this season, including in the dugout. Rangers and Thelwell also misfired there, appointing former defender and Southampton manager Russell Martin as head coach.
What followed was an influx of 14 new players, 12 of whom were signed after Thelwell officially took up his post.
Several of the higher-profile arrivals have already come under heavy scrutiny, most notably the £8 million signing of Yousef Chermiti from Everton and the initial £3.5 million purchase of Thelo Aasgaard from relegated Championship side Luton Town.
But one summer failure has slipped almost completely under the radar.
Initially signed in January 2024 during Philippe Clement’s first transfer window, Oscar Cortés arrived on loan from Ligue 1 side Lens with plenty of hype and promise.
He started brightly before an injury in late February ended his initial six-month spell early.
Despite that setback, there remained optimism about extending his stay. However, when the loan was renewed and revealed to include an obligation-to-buy, scepticism grew. Cortés had yet to prove his fitness, or, crucially, his quality over a sustained period, to justify a fee in excess of £4.5 million committed for this summer.
After just eleven appearances last season, producing no goals or assists, he became a permanent Rangers player.
There was still hope that, under incoming manager Russell Martin, he might rediscover the early spark he had briefly shown.
It wasn’t to be. Aside from a start in the League Cup against Alloa Athletic — where he was deployed, bizarrely, at left-back, Cortés was restricted to just 11 minutes of first-team football before leaving the club at the end of the summer window, barely two months after officially signing.
His move to Spanish Segunda División side Sporting Gijón, a former home of Rangers cult hero and Darvel manager Nacho Novo, has done little to change the narrative.
Two starts (one in the early Copa del Rey rounds, one in the league where he was hooked at half-time) and just 45 minutes off the bench, again with no goals or assists, hardly suggest a player building towards a successful return to Scotland.
In truth, Cortés may prove to be the most quietly damaging deal of the entire window: a £4.5 million commitment for a player who never established himself, never convinced, and never looked close to repaying Rangers’ investment.