Rangers must sell "exciting" ace who earns so much more than Lyall Cameron

Are Rangers starting to stabilise?

On Sunday, Philippe Clement’s Gers made it four successive Scottish Premiership victories by smashing Ross County 4-0 at Ibrox; Ianis Hagi bagging a brace, while fit-again John Souttar and James Tavernier were also on target.

This came after the Light Blues had reached the Europa League round of 16, thanks to a 2-1 victory over Royale Union Saint-Gilloise last Thursday.

So, while the title is gone, there’s still plenty to play for both in Europe and in the Scottish Cup, before they welcome their only deadline day move in the summer months…

Rangers’ deadline day signing

On Monday, Rangers confirmed that Dundee midfielder Lyall Cameroon had signed a pre-contract agreement with the club, which will see him join in the summer, with Alan Pattullo of the Scotsman believing they’ve secured “one of Scottish football’s hottest young talents”.

Meanwhile, speaking on the Scottish Football Social Club on Premier Sports, former Hearts and Hibs midfielder Michael Stewart described Cameron’s move as financially low-risk, while Scottish football writer Kai Watson believes he “has the potential to play at a higher level than the Scottish Premiership”.

Dundee manager Tony Docherty labelled Cameron “extremely talented”, adding “it is no surprise when a player like that is out of contract… there will be interest”.

Of course, the 22-year-old will move on a Bosman, but Rangers will owe Dundee a compensation fee, similar to the situation they faced with Aberdeen and Connor Barron earlier this season, ultimately ordered to pay £639,920 plus up to £250,000 in “conditional performance-based payments” by a tribunal, after the two clubs could not agree a settlement.

Nevertheless, even if a repeat fee is paid, that still offers great value for a high-quality young player, while Cameron’s wages won’t be astronomical either; Salary Sport believes he currently earns just £340-per-week, or £17,680-per-annum, at the Dark Blues.

So, even with a bumper pay rise, he’ll still be amongst the Gers’ lowest earners, and Rangers need to cut costs wherever they can, given that Anthony Evans of the Daily Record believes the club lost £17.2m during the most recent financial year.

With little money to waste, Rangers need their highest-paid players to be pulling their weight, but this is not the case.

Rangers’ fourth-highest earner isn’t delivering

When Danilo joined Rangers from Feyenoord for a reported £6m in 2023, he did so too much fanfare, with then manager Michael Beale saying he is “an exciting player who likes to create and score goals… he will give us another big option in the attacking areas of the pitch”.

However, his time in Glasgow has been blighted by injuries, sitting out 61 of Rangers’ 99 matches since the start of last season, accumulating only 1,730 minutes, due to a fractured cheekbone, knee surgery and then, most recently, a shoulder injury.

This has seen him score just 12 goals for the club, averaging a strike every 144 minutes, which certainly isn’t a bad ratio, but is not the return they would’ve hoped for from the club’s fourth-highest earner, currently on £26,000-per-week, according to Salary Sport.

So, let’s compare the Brazilian to Rangers’ other centre-forward options.

Danilo vs Dessers & Igamane Rangers career comparison
Statistics (per 90)	Danilo	Dessers	Igamane
Appearances	38	91	29
Minutes	1,730	5,470	1,704
Goals	0.63	0.66	0.69
Assists	0.42	0.25	0.16
Shots	5.23	3.44	4.17
Shots on target %	49.4%	46.3%	41.1%
Goals – xG	-0.6	-2.6	+2.9
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and FBref.com

As outlined in the table, Danilo’s per-90 statistics for Rangers compare favourably to both Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igmane.

However, the Nigerian has played more than three times as many minutes since the pair joined together in 2023, while the Moroccan has played only 26 fewer minutes, despite the fact this is his first season at Ibrox.

The trio’s goals-per-90 figures are remarkably similar, but Danilo ranks exponentially higher when it comes to both assists and shots, outperforming Dessers’ goals – xG figure, albeit Igamane is certainly outshining both in that regard.

Thus, what these numbers show is that Danilo can be a useful player for Rangers, but not if he can’t stay fit, and given Rangers’ tight finances, Clement himself saying they “simply can’t buy players without selling them first”, the summer will be the time to cash in.