Philippe Clement confirms 'several' Rangers transfer exits as inventive recruitment work targeted in rebuild
The Rangers boss has been reacting to a painful day for his team in the Scottish Cup final vs Celtic.
Rangers boss Philippe Clement has confirmed there are out of contract players who have played their final matches for the club after a 1-0 defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Cup final.
The Light Blues have been left wounded by a late Adam Idah goal, having controlled large parts of the game at Hampden. Paulo Bernardo’s shot was uncharacteristically spilled by goalkeeper Jack Butland and Adam Idah followed up to convert a winner.
Abdallah Sima had a Rangers opener ruled out by VAR and Clement’s side were in the ascendency before a brutal blow. A summer rebuild is now on the way after failure to win the Premiership title too, with several stars out of contract or on loan possibly playing their final Rangers matches in Mount Florida.
There are reports John Lundstram and Borna Barisic could be off to Turkey, while Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe, Jon McLaughlin and Leon Balogun also have deals expiring. Left-back Jefte has already been signed from Fluminense and the Brazilian was in attendance at Hampden.
Speaking post-match, Clement said the club will need to be smart with their business, as some will leave without being able to be cashed in on. He explained: “It’s a massive challenge as there is not much time.
“That is the reality. You have qualifying games for Champions League in August and five league games also. So that’s nine games in four weeks and you need to rebuild the squad.
“We have several players out of contract who will leave the building. You need to replace them without money coming inside, which is one thing. So we need to be really inventive in our transfers and doing the smart things. It’s going to be really challenging but we have been busy with that for months within the club.
“You see already we have brought in Jefte. He is a young, talented player but they need their time to adapt. How long? That’s always difficult to predict. Some players adapt really fast, some need more time, but we are working hard to get more quality in the building.”
Clement was left gutted at defeat in the showpiece final, but says there were even some Celtic players who thought his side were the worthy winners. The Rangers boss added: “The general thought is you are disappointed that you lose as I think today, no I don’t think, even people of Celtic were saying that so they are not really neutral.
“Everybody was saying that we were the better team today and in that way its mixed feelings. You are disappointed because you do everything to win. I am also proud about what the team showed today.”