Rangers

Rangers have completed the signing of Djeidi Gassama for a fee of £2.2 million from Sheffield Wednesday on a four-year deal.  The 21-year-old came through the youth ranks at Brest before joining PSG in 2019 where he signed his first professional contract in 2020. Gassama made his debut for PSG in 2022 in a 4-0 league victory over Montpellier, and played alongside Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. The winger has spent the last two seasons at the Owls making 84 appearances and scoring 12 goals. The former France U20’s international won Wednesday’s Wise Old Owl Player of the Year Award last season. Speaking to the Rangers official club website, Gassama said he is excited to get started at the Light Blues: “I am very happy to be here and to join the club. I am very excited to start with my new club, it is a club with a lot of history, and I am very happy. This is a big club, and I need that for my next level and I think it can help me progress.” Russell Martin also told the club website that he believes Gassama is a player that will have the Ibrox faithful on the edge of their seats: “We are very excited to bring Djeidi to the club. He is certainly an exciting player who will get supporters on the edge of their seats, and I believe he will add an extra dimension to our attack with his qualities. He is hungry to improve as a player and, most importantly, is desperate to pull on the Rangers jersey and help deliver success to the club.” Gassama becomes Martin’s sixth summer signing as they prepare for their crucial Champions League second round qualifier against Panathinaikos on July 22nd.      

Rangers have completed the signing of Nasser Djiga on loan from Wolves until the end of the season. The centre-back joined the Old Gold from Red Star Belgrade for a fee of £10 million earlier this year. The 22-year-old has made 105 professional appearances and six for the Molineux club. Speaking to the Rangers official club website, the Burkina Faso international said that the Light Blues are one of the biggest clubs in Europe and is over the moon to have joined: “I am very happy to join Rangers, it is one of the biggest clubs in Scotland and in Europe. I will try to give everything, to play every game and I think it is the best team for me. I just want to play and enjoy football with the team.” Djiga becomes Russell Martin’s fifth signing and the Rangers boss told the Rangers official club website that his new signing has all the fundamentals to be a success in Scotland: “Nasser is someone who, despite still only being 22, has garnered valuable experience in both the UEFA Champions League and Premier League. “We believe he has all the attributes required to thrive here at Rangers in the upcoming campaign and I am looking forward to working with him.”

Russell Martin has made his fourth summer signing as Thelo Aasgaard joins Rangers from Luton Town on a four-year deal for a fee of £3.5 million. The midfielder came through the ranks at Liverpool before making the switch to Wigan Athletic in 2020 where he made 163 appearances scoring 30 goals with 11 assists in five years. The 23-year-old earned his first cap for Norway earlier this year in a 5-0 victory over Moldova and managed to find the back of the net on his debut. Speaking to the official Rangers club website, the Liverpool-born player believed that he would play under the new Rangers boss one day: “I am delighted to be here. I have been waiting for it, but I am glad to get it over the line. “When I heard about Rangers I was over the moon. I have played against the manager’s teams a few times and I always pictured myself in his team and to be here now is really good. “It was an easy decision, I love the number of games here, it is like the EFL and I love playing. The stature and history is enough as well.” Martin so far has signed Max Aarons, Joe Rothwell, Emmanuel Fernandez and now Aasgaard, with more expected to follow into the door at Ibrox.  

Rangers have completed the signing of Joe Rothwell on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee from Bournemouth. The 30-year-old was on loan at Leeds United last season, making 36 league appearances, and helped the club win the English Championship. Rothwell played under boss Russell Martin at Southampton where they gained promotion to the Premiership in 2024 through the championship play-offs. The midfielder has also had a successful spell at Blackburn Rovers where he made over 150 appearances in four years. Speaking to the official Rangers club website, the Englishman spoke of delight to have joined the Light Blues and linking up with his former Saints manager: “I am delighted to have the deal done and be here. It is brilliant. The size of the club speaks for itself and as soon as the interest was there it was an immediate yes from me. “With Russell coming in too it made that decision a little bit easier because working with him in the past and I know what type of guy he is and how he wants to do things. That was an even bigger pull for me, but the club speaks for itself.” Martin told the official Rangers club website, that Rothwell’s leadership and qualities as a player were so important in his decision to bring him to the Ibrox club: “He is a player who we thoroughly enjoyed working with during my time at Southampton. “His leadership, professionalism and quality were a huge asset. He is joining on the back of two promotions so helps bring a real winning mentality to the group. “We are excited for Joe to join up the squad, get to know his teammates, and help make the group stronger.”            

New Rangers head coach Russell Martin was asked about the future of the club captain James Tavernier and the speculation surrounding his captaincy going forward. Tavernier was officially given the armband seven years ago by previous boss Steven Gerrard and it’s been a rollercoaster since. The 33-year-old has won every domestic trophy in Scotland and even captained the Light Blues to a Europa League final in 2022, where he finished top goal scorer in the competition with seven goals. The right-back has been at the club for ten years and is set to have his testimonial this season. The Bradford-born defender is in the final year of his contract and many expect it to be his final season at Ibrox. Martin played with Tavernier in 2018 during a six month loan spell and he believes the full-back is still ‘hugely important’ to the team: “I think to play here for as long as he has, to be captain for as long as he has, takes a lot of energy. It’s not easy. I’ve been at a club where sometimes you’re the one that’s been there the longest and you end up getting criticised a lot because you’ve been there the longest. You’re an ageing player and all that stuff. “I think he’s been so important for this team and this club on and off the pitch and I’m looking forward to chatting in more detail with him and speaking to him about it all. “Then how much he gets used on the pitch will be down to Tav and how he trains and how he plays, the same as every player. But he’s going to be hugely important in the culture. I know what he’s like as a person behind the scenes and he’s fantastic.” Tavernier has come under some criticism from sections of the Rangers faithful with calls for Nicolas Raskin to become the new skipper. Martin said he doesn’t see any reason why he would take the captaincy off  Tavernier if he’s featuring in the team and playing well: “How much he plays on the pitch, I can’t sit here and tell you he’s going to play 50 games, 20 games, whatever. It will be down to him in the way he performs and the way he buys into it, which I’m pretty sure he will. “If he’s playing. He’s been the captain for a very long time. I don’t see any reason to change that. And if he’s not playing, it will force someone else [to be captain].”