It's no surprise that Michael Beale has decided to go shopping in the English Championship. The Rangers boss is hoping to tie up deals for Norwich City’s Todd Cantwell and Morgan Whittaker from Swansea. And who can blame him? It’s a market he knows well, having returned to Ibrox from QPR not that long ago.
Michael obviously feels there is some top talent in that league - and I agree with him. I’m back in the Championship again as Huddersfield Town’s assistant boss. And I’ve quickly realised again just how difficult a place it is to compete - both on and off the pitch. At the high end of this division, there are some massive clubs who are paying top dollar for players.
Just like Premier League prices, Rangers - or Celtic for that matter - can’t get close to that in terms of transfer fees. Look at some of the figures being bandied about. I’ll give you an example. If Michael fancied signing Watford’s Brazilian striker Joao Pedro, it would cost upwards of £25 million to get him. In terms of his wages, they will be at a level Rangers couldn’t get near.
It will be the same at some of the Championship’s top clubs like Burnley, Norwich and Sheffield United That’s the level we’re talking about here. It’s scary. I know this for a fact because I’m part of it now. We’ve tried to get players into Huddersfield but can really only sign them on loan because of the salaries involved.
There are players at certain Championship clubs who are nowhere near the first team - but are raking in huge salaries to sit on the bench. You wouldn’t believe some of the figures. The money is ridiculous down here. Effectively, the top teams down here can easily match what Rangers and Celtic can pay in the Scottish Premiership.
So ordinarily, it would be a no-go area for Michael. But that’s when you have to be clever and creative. And it’s when your recruitment team really has to come into its own. Clubs like Rangers CAN get top players from England but only when the right situation presents itself.
That’s what’s happened with Cantwell and Whittaker. Cantwell can be a top player. When he was 21, he was performing in the Premier League. But there’s a reason that Rangers are able to target him now. There’s a reason top flight English clubs aren’t chasing him. It’s because he’s lost his way a bit. And crucially, he’s out of contract.
So he’s fallen into a category where suddenly Rangers can get him. There hasn’t been a transfer fee mentioned around this deal because he’s out of contract in the summer. I suspect Rangers will pay a small fee now but Norwich will demand a big sell-on clause. It makes sense for both parties to structure the deal that way. Norwich know the boy’s got talent.
And if he re-produces what he did in the Premier League a few years ago at Ibrox, big clubs will start looking at him again. Cantwell maybe just needs to go somewhere else, with a different stimulation. He’ll definitely get that as a Rangers player. Because the demands and expectations at Ibrox will be far greater than what he’s experienced at Norwich.
In terms of Whittaker, again, he’s only 22 and has been around the league with Derby and Swansea. Michael will know all about him. The fact he’s been out on loan in League One at Plymouth has opened up an opportunity for Rangers. And Michael obviously feels they can take advantage.
He got nine goals in 25 games before being recalled, which is a decent return for a wide player. There are some huge clubs in League One. And there are diamonds to be found there. Look at the success Rangers had with Joe Aribo who came in from Charlton Athletic?
Josh Windass came to Rangers from that league as well. Matt O’Riley hasn’t done too badly at Celtic this season, after arriving from MK Dons, has he? That’s why good recruitment departments are worth their weight in gold. As I’ve said, the top end of English football is now out of Rangers’ reach.
So they have to have their finger on the pulse because if there’s an opportunity that arises with a player who fits their model - they have to be ready. It sounds like that’s the case with Cantwell and Whittaker. It’s the same with some of the big European leagues. Rangers have had success signing players from Belgium in Ianis Hagi and Fashion Sakala.
Now, they’re obviously looking to do the same with Nicolas Raskin from Standard Liege. Again, if the player’s contract wasn’t expiring in the summer, Rangers might not be able to get round the table. But they’ve monitored a situation - as well as watching him in a Europa League tie at Ibrox a couple of years ago - and are now looking to exploit it.
Michael isn’t the first and he won’t be the last manager to go into a market he knows well. Just look at Ange Postecoglou across the city. I think Michael wants a core of British players at Rangers, while Celtic have gone down a different route.
Ange has signed a lot of players from the Far East market and he’s now in for the Korean striker Oh Hyeon-gyu. I don’t blame him for doing it - and most of them have been a success so far. He’s right to go for players he knows and can trust. Equally, you have to imagine that most of them are here because of Ange, to work for that particular manager. So my only question would be: What happens if Ange leaves? That might be an issue for any new gaffer coming in.
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