Calvin Bassey has brought in a cash jackpot of £20m for Rangers with his move to Ajax but will this allow Gio van Bronckhorst greater spending power as he continues to recruit?
KEITH JACKSON: It can’t do any harm. But Rangers need to be careful to strike the right balance. Losing Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey from last season’s starting XI significantly weakens Van Bronckhorst’s side. If they also cash in on Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent this summer then the manager will be up against from the start.
GORDON PARKS: It's a much needed cash injection into the Rangers coffers and another feather in the cap of recruitment chief Ross Wilson but don't expect any multi-million pound arrivals as the model continues to buy cheap and sell big.
CRAIG SWAN: It should do. It's unlikely to be the whole lot, but there will be a chunk of it, surely.
FRASER WILSON: Rangers are pretty well covered in most departments now. Van Bronckhorst is after a replacement for Bassey but with Borna Barisic showing up well in pre-season I’d be surprised if there was to be a sizeable outlay on another left sided defender. The preference would likely be for another Bassey-type, young and with bags of potential.
Celtic opened the curtain on Celtic Park this summer with a draw with Blackburn Rovers but defensive problems were laid bare, is a central defender a priority recruit before the Champions League begins?
KEITH: A centre half and a midfield enforcer will be at the top of Ange Postecoglou’s priority list. The Aussie needs to tighten up Celtic’s defences to have any chance of surviving in the Champions League group stages.
GORDON: Celtic's central defence has a galling lack of height and that is the immediate priority to be addressed by Postecoglou in the coming weeks.
CRAIG: Regardless of the pre-season results, Celtic needed another centre-back.
FRASER: Generally a manager would be happy with four established central defenders and while Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt are by far the first choice pairing. It’s whether there’s enough trust in Christopher Jullien and Stephen Welsh to step in when required. I reckon a spoiler in midfield is still more of a priority though.
Another poor League Cup showing for St Johnstone in their draw with Queen of the South, are the warning signs already showing for the Perth side?
KEITH: Yes. They’re coming off the back of a horrendous season last time out and the early signs this summer are far from encouraging. They can’t afford to sleepwalk into the new campaign.
GORDON: St Johnstone's lack of quality recruits on the back of losing their best players is an issue. A lack of resources for Callum Davidson was always going to be a problem and recent weeks have highlighted where he needs to strengthen but whether he gets the funds is another matter.
CRAIG: It's not been brilliant, but it's still too early to be making judgements. There's six weeks of the transfer window to go for a start.
FRASER: Absolutely. The main stars from the remarkable cup double of just 14 months ago - Jason Kerr, Ali McCann, Jamie McCart and Shaun Rooney - have gone with Zander Clark soon to follow. It’s a tough ask but Callum Davidson needs to get a tune out of his new recruits soon or they could be in trouble in a stronger than ever looking top flight.
Scotland's tour of Argentina ended with another defeat to the Pumas after blowing a 15 point lead, is it time for the SRU to give Gregor Townsend his jotters and give a new man time to prepare for the Six Nations and World Cup?
KEITH: No. Townsend is very close to cracking the code with this side. They can be a frustrating watch at times but that’s only because they’re knocking on the door and threatening to do something special. Give him the Six Nations to prove it.
GORDON: Toony must be galled at the poor game management while protecting a lead against Argentina but he'll be given the next Six Nations to prove there has been progress but if it's more of the same then he should be shown the door.
CRAIG: Townsend has been a good Scotland manager, but, perhaps the players need to hear a new voice.
FRASER: A five-year stretch is not a bad run in charge but you’ve got to wonder if Townsend’s shelf-life is up. This year’s Six Nations felt like a missed opportunity while Saturday’s defeat gave little hope. Maybe it’s time for a fresh approach.
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