RANGERS CONFIDENTIAL: Rangers target swoop for goalscoring Romania midfielder, the clue that reveals all about shaky finances and Jack Butland backed to take over captaincy

It wasn’t just the future of Ianis Hagi which piqued the interest of the Romanian media which descended on Glasgow for last week’s Europa League match between Rangers and FCSB.

The word is that Steaua will look to cash in on captain Darius Olaru next summer and Philippe Clement is said to be among the player’s many admirers.

Olaru was suspended for the 4-0 defeat, thus denying the Belgian a closer look at him, but the Ibrox manager didn’t exactly hit the rumour for six when it was put to him.

‘Like your colleagues out of Scotland know really well, after the last months, I never go into rumours because then I don’t have a life anymore,’ said Clement cryptically.

‘Because there are so many rumours about so many players. And then we would have signed in the last year more than a thousand players, I think. So, I will never go into them.’

Philippe Clement and Rangers are said to be big admirers of the goalscoring midfielder

With a contract running until 2028, Rangers would probably need to find some loose change down the back of the sofa to get a deal done.

If it comes to pass, they might want to structure the player’s personal terms better than they did with Hagi. He’s only recently come back into the fold after the terms of his contract made to financially prohibitive for Clement to select him.

Shaky finances 

You can usually tell which way the wind is blowing by the moment a club decides to publish its annual accounts.

When the email drops on a slow news day, it usually means there’s joyous tidings to spread.

When the accounts magically come out of the sky on a busy day – such as just after a press conference before a vital league match – well, that’s normally a sign that the club would rather as few people as possible take notice.

Unfortunately for Rangers, a headline £17.2million loss was never going to fade into the background despite all the hullabaloo before their game with Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

While the sum does contain the one-off cost of settling litigation, the bad news again outweighed the good for an institution that habitually loses money and talks about a player trading model but never seems to actually execute it.

Despite total income rising to a record £94.2m and wages marginally coming down to £61.2m and expected to fall further, total operating expenses still sit at £110m.

Chief financial officer James Taylor also issued a note of caution for this time next year, stating that a failure to make the Champions League and the Ibrox building works debacle – which saw the team decant to Hampden – will come at a cost.

The fact the club is now free of any litigation claims for first time in over a decade is certainly a plus point. Just don’t expect next year’s figures to arrive on a day when there’s tumbleweed rolling through town.

Rangers revealed they suffered a £17.2million loss when they published their annual accounts

Concern over Propper 

There is a growing concern with Robin Propper and the way the Rangers centre-back seems unable to complete a full 90 minutes.

It’s almost reached the point now where there is a sense of inevitability that the Dutchman won’t be able to go the distance in whatever match he plays.

It was apparent once again on Sunday afternoon at Ibrox, with the defender enduring a torrid afternoon against St Mirren striker Toyosi Olusanya.

Propper was substituted with around half an hour to play and, damningly, the Rangers defence immediately looked more secure once he had gone off.

That’s not to say Propper hasn’t had some good games for Rangers. For instance, in the 2-0 Europa League win away at Malmo a few weeks ago, he was excellent alongside John Souttar.

But he doesn’t look robust enough. There’s a fragility to him. He has started 12 matches for Rangers this season and been subbed five times.

There seems to be an inability for him to play a full 90 minutes. Centre-backs need to be robust and durable. Given that Propper is the other side of 30, it’s something which has to be of concern.

There is a growing concern with Robin Propper (right) and the way the Rangers centre-back seems unable to complete a full 90 minutes

Butland backed for captaincy 

How do you know when there’s a debate raging about James Tavernier’s suitability for the Rangers’ captaincy? When the day ends in ‘y’.

Try as he might, Tavernier’s time at the club is up as far as many of the club’s fans are concerned. So much so that the identity of his replacement as club skipper is now an even hotter topic.

Connor Barron certainly nailed his colours to the Jack Butland mast when asking about those individuals who’d helped him settle into life at Ibrox since joining from Aberdeen.

‘Big Jack was great with me,’ he revealed. ‘He took me out on golf days so that was good to get in with the boys early. I think that was important.’

Jack Butland has been tipped to take over the Rangers captaincy from James Tavernier

Wilson’s next move will be key

Rory Wilson is a young striker with a big reputation – and he’s not shy when it comes to making some bold decisions about his future.

Just a couple of years ago, when he was 16 years old and on the cusp of breaking through into the first-team squad at Rangers, Wilson left to join Aston Villa’s academy.

That was on the back of a season which had seen him score 49 goals and break records. He was, by all accounts, one of the hottest young talents in British football.

But it now seems like he has reached another contract impasse. Villa have tabled several offers to extend Wilson’s current deal, which expires next summer.

But he has been reluctant to sign. With reported interest from Inter Milan, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen, he is attracting interest from some huge clubs.

Wherever he goes, this next move will be key for Wilson. He will turn 19 in January. He needs a club who can offer a clear pathway to first-team football.

An Under-21 international with Scotland, the nation is crying out for a young striker to burst on to the scene.

Ben Doak is a couple of months younger than Wilson but is already much further down the line in terms of his development.

Wilson’s next move will be key to enabling him to showcase his talents. Given the dearth of young Scottish strikers, it would be a shame if his talent was to be unfulfilled.

Scottish youngster Rory Wilson has reached another contract impasse at Aston Villa

Interim Gilligan 

Rangers have gained an interim chairman in John Gilligan. But it’s been the after-dinner speaking circuit’s loss.

A little-known sideline of the former director is his ability to take the mic and regale all manner of audiences with his fund of stories from a lifetime as a Rangers supporter and, more recently, a member of its hierarchy. By all accounts, he’s extremely funny.

But with the club seeking a permanent chairman, chief executive and a director of football operations, Gilligan’s return to the entertainment industry seems extremely unlikely this side of Christmas.

Joe Gilligan (pictured) has returned to Ibrox to help steer the club as an interim chairman

Caixinha’s caravan keeps going 

Every year or two, news filters through of Pedro Caixinha’s latest sacking and Rangers supporters are reminded of a time they would rather forget.

Since he was dismissed by the Ibrox club in 2017 after a shambolic 229-day tenure, the Portuguese former goalkeeper’s five subsequent jobs have all ended badly.

Cruz Azul, Al Shabab, Santos Laguna, Talleres and now Red Bull Bragantino have each decided to sack or accept his resignation after a downturn in fortunes.

To be fair on Caixinha, his latest effort wasn’t all bad. Some have attributed his failure to the Brazilian club, their strategy and the decision to sell many of their best players.

He took charge of Bragantino in January 2023, won back-to-back manager of the month awards a year ago and led them to two semi-finals in the Paulista league.

Every year or two, news filters through of Pedro Caixinha’s latest sacking and Rangers supporters are reminded of a time they would rather forget

But they grew frustrated with recent results and sacked Caixinha, now 53, after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Botafogo, which left them flirting with the relegation zone.

If the current Rangers team slip any further off the Premiership pace, Philippe Clement will come under mounting pressure, but nobody in that job will be subject to quite the same ridicule as Caixinha was.

This, after all, is the man whose ill-advised attempt to appease supporters after a humiliating defeat at Progres Niederkorn only made matters worse. The famous photograph of him, knee-deep in a hedge as angry fans gave him both barrels, is excruciating.

Caixinha was also prone to peppering his press conferences with the most colourful, garbled messages, one of which claimed: ‘The dogs bark but the caravan keeps going’. It will not be long before his well-travelled trailer pitches up somewhere else.