Rangers are looking to trim their squad ahead of several new recruits arriving at Ibrox this transfer deadline day.
Players such as Nicolas Raskin and Cyriel Dessers are likely to depart in big money moves, with Raskin set to head to England and Dessers to Greece, with replacements needed today.
However, the club are also still trying to offload some players deemed surplus to requirements by new head coach Russell Martin early this summer.
After the team’s first friendly against Club Brugge, who would later eliminate the side from the UEFA Champions League in the playoff round, and a training camp at the England national side’s St. Georges Park several players were told they had no future at the club and told to train separate from the main group.
They have been nicknamed ‘the bomb squad’. This group initially featured the likes of Robin Propper, Ross McCausland, Jose Cifuentes, Ben Davies, Ridvan Yilmaz and later Robbie Fraser, all of whom have since departed Ibrox for pastures new either on loan or on permanent deals.
Three remain, Leon King, the injured Rabbi Matondo and Clinton Nsiala, with the French defender the most likely to leave ahead of the deadline at midnight tonight.
Nsiala made several appearances last season, showing some promise including a goal against Fraserburgh in the Scottish Cup and an assist against Aberdeen but Martin has made it clear that there is no future for the defender who signed last summer from Italian giants AC Milan.
A poor match away to Kilmarnock early in interim boss Barry Ferguson’s debut last year signalled the beginning of the end of the centre back, substituted early in the first half with the side two down.
He has not featured at all under Martin, and there have been rumours of petulant behaviour since being bombed out.
The defender has been offered a lifeline in an unlikely place. Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine are preparing an offer to take the 21-year-old on loan for the season.
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Rangers would ideally like a permanent sale, but with little options to move him out they are set to accept the Ukrainian side’s offer and let Nsiala head to Eastern Europe for the campaign. There is rumoured to be an option to buy involved in the deal.
Rangers still want to move fellow bomb squad member Leon King out but may be forced to keep the defender due to home-grown and club trained quota requirements for UEFA European squad lists. Scottish reinforcements today could see the once-highly rated academy graduate’s contract paid up however.
Matondo will remain at Ibrox, he returned to pre-season injured and is still not training other than gym work and will pick up his rumoured £30k a week until at least January without featuring for the side unless Martin chooses to reintegrate him to the side upon his return to fitness.