Steven Gerrard has already brought in three new faces but lots more are expected to follow.
The former Liverpool captain will officially start as Rangers manager on June 1 but work has already been going on behind the scenes to get the jump on next season.
Rangers finished the season third in the Scottish Premiership but they were a country mile behind champions Celtic, who secured a trophy treble for the second season in succession.
Ahead of the 2018/19 pre-season, Rangers have secured the playing services of Scott Arfield, Allan McGregor and Jamie Murphy, who had been on loan at the club.
The club are expected to bring in five or six more faces and may well cut a few players [Lee Wallace, Michael O’Halloran and Kenny Miller included] from last season loose.
The Gers have been accused, by several Premiership rivals, of coming in with bids for transfer targets that have been far too low. That, reportedly, was the case with their initial bid for Brighton defender Connor Goldson. The 25-year-old played four times in the Premier League last season but was primarily back-up to the first choice pairing of Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk.
Rangers’ initial bid for the defender was rejected but The Daily Record reports that they are prepared to pay £2m for him.
With Gary McAllister, Gerrard’s assistant, stressing that the team need to get their defence in order, getting in Martin Skrtel from Fenerbache would be a real coup. A former Liverpool teammate of Gerrard, the Slovakian was one of the first to congratulate him on social media when he got the job.
Another former Reds teammate of Gerrard to find himself linked with a move to Glasgow is Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva. The 31-year-old has pledged to Lazio fans that he will be around for next season but the idea of a starting role in centre midfield could yet sway him.
Rangers have been linked with getting two more players with Liverpool ties in for next season, possibly on loan deals. Dominic Solanke may feel he could break into Liverpool’s senior team next season after getting a recent run-out in league games but Welsh international Harry Wilson may be easier to convince to give a season up north a try.
That leaves us with the most ambitious of Gerrard’s transfer targets – after Wes Hoolahan – the evergreen Jermaine Defoe. One of the most prolific strikers in Premier League history, Defoe would fancy his chances of pilfering goals in Gerrard’s new-look side.
RANGERS POSSIBLE 2018/19 STARTING XI
The only players from last season in the starting XI are Andy Halliday, Russell Martin and Jamie Murphy but the likes of Graham Dorrans, Sean Goss and Jason Holt would be pressing for action too.
Good enough to dethrone Celtic? Probably not but they would definitely push them close.
