There are busy transfer windows and then there’s the period Rangers experienced this summer.

Not quite busy enough, according to some supporters. Indeed, members of the club hierarchy admit that in an ideal world, a few more transfers would have come in the door. Director of football recruitment Nils Koppen, speaking exclusively to the Rangers Review in a two-part interview, discusses the ambitious target set before summer. In the end, 11 new players would arrive with 15 heading in the opposite direction as the first phase of an overdue squad rebuild at Ibrox took place. 

“It was a very ambitious plan and I think we executed around 80% of that plan on the incoming side,” Koppen shares.

“Was the plan more ambitious than we executed? Yes, but in my opinion you always have to set the bar quite high. Sticking to a philosophy is really important, rather than changing during a window because you’re panicking.”

Yesterday, the 39-year-old detailed his vision to fix the player-trading model at Rangers that’s failed in recent years while outlining changes to the recruitment process to achieve those means.

Today, Koppen discusses the most recent window in detail. From the pursuit of Abdallah Sima, to frustrations surrounding outgoings, Oscar Cortes, the process of a transfer and more.

“Adjustment” is a phrase used more than once as Koppen dissects his first summer leading on recruitment at Rangers. Philippe Clement reiterated publicly more than once that very quickly, the club found itself in a position this summer where sales had to be made before signings. This is the reality of inheriting a legacy in football - you can’t just push the reset button on contracts in any given summer.

“After the January window, we built a plan. Looking at the blueprint of the team, the money required to rebuild, how that would be generated by outgoings based on squad value and the extra funds required to make it happen,” Koppen says.

(Image: Image: Alan Harvey - SNS Group) “While I was ambitious to sell more players, we also had to readjust our expectations because of salaries and the squad’s overall age. In some cases, the interest we expected for certain players was not there.

“That resulted in us changing our plans and looking at the loan market more heavily. We had a good plan that the board were really happy with but it’s the reality of football that things change and you need to adjust your expectations as a result.”

In the end, nine players arrived permanently while two were acquired on loan. The exits of Connor Goldson and Sam Lammers prompted the arrivals of Robin Propper and Vaclav Cerny. In the final week of the window, Todd Cantwell and Ben Davies departed as Nedim Bajrami and Neraysho Kasanwirjo were brought in. This domino effect, after an early period of activity that saw five players arrive by June, is telling.

The frustration, again publicly communicated by Clement, was the limiting factors that prevented even more change. Rangers slashed the wage bill and average age of their squad but as well as missing out on vital Champions League funds in failing to reach the play-off rounds, plans were delayed by outgoings. As Clement suggested at a press conference near the end of the window, “It is the case that [some players] have known that [they can find a new club] a really long time and they are still in the building, so that makes things more difficult, but it is what it is. I cannot put a gun on their heads to get them out of the building... It’s not something I can control.”

A feature of the restructured recruitment department led by Koppen is the depth of scouting now attributed to every new signing. Already a large department under the guidance of Ross Wilson as sporting director, the intervening months between Wilson’s exit and Koppen’s arrival had made processes “disjointed”.

Now, before a player is even pitched to the manager layers and levels of research are carried out. Mohamed Diomande was the subject of 20 separate scouting reports over three years, live and virtually, before moving from FC Nordsjælland to Rangers in January of this year.

The new in-house scouting platform built in 2024, crucially merging physical and technical data, allows the club to scout with a more holistic picture. Diomande’s physical data scaled to Premier League level, lining up with a belief that the Ivory Coast midfielder can make that next step in years to come. The 22-year-old held several Zoom calls with Clement before arriving as Rangers sought to win a competitive transfer battle. While not every transfer will work, players should “come in without one doubt” about their ability. The extent of background research now commissioned is designed to mitigate as many risks as possible.

(Image: SNS Group) This summer 62 players reached the final stage of the recruitment process - which sees the manager review footage and often hold discussions with the individual. Many more were falsely linked with a move to Glasgow. While Koppen highlights that availability can increase towards the end of a window the prospect of panic buying the wrong player, or diverting from the overall recruitment philosophy, is the type of long-term issue that’s created the situation Rangers are now attempting to solve. “It’s important to stick to the plan and not react with players who have not been through this process,” Koppen adds.

Arguably, one of the ‘marquee’ signings Rangers missed out on over the summer came in the form of an experienced No.6. Clement even suggested the possibility of exploring the free agents market to bolster that area. But when the right profile at the right price does not materialise, what should be done?

Koppen adds: “Connor Barron has started really well, and you have Nico Raskin in that position too. Maybe we could have signed a No.6 this season and pushed again and again over the limit financially, but then do you also kill the value of the players you have in that position?

“There are so many factors attached to all the decisions you make. You have to consider the overall picture. The cost, the other players in that position and the long-term strategy.”

As explored in greater length during part one of the Rangers Review’s conversation with Koppen the establishment of an in-house scouting tool is enabling the use of data alongside agent networks and in-person scouting. Data should act as a benchmark, an additive and “a very good tool to help us in the manpower we don't have, in comparing players, in getting more detail”. Numbers are not a silver bullet in isolation but their influence on the modern recruitment process is undeniable.

Increasingly, Rangers are using this new blend of in-house physical and technical data to compare leagues and players. For example, while coming from Serie A Nedim Bajrami had played in a stronger league than the Scottish Premiership, he didn’t have top-line standout creative statistics. An ‘eye test’ belief that the Albanian’s output could improve in a ball-dominant side was confirmed by the unique algorithms per position used in the recruitment department.

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One of the other issues that has harmed Rangers on the pitch in recent years is not only changing the footballing structure, but the overall style of play at first-team level. Which, of course, has a direct correlation to the value and development of players on the pitch. That’s where a ‘recruitment philosophy’ comes into play.

“Creating some clarity of what we really want in possession, in transition and out of possession for every player is important,” Koppen adds.

“We didn't have that previously at the Rangers. Every manager arrived with their own own philosophy and things started all over again. Now we want to pick a philosophy and stick to that so we can always fall back on something.”

One of the players Rangers did try to bring back to Ibrox this summer, contrary to some opinion, was Abdallah Sima. The 23-year-old scored 16 goals on loan from Brighton last season despite missing the majority of the second half of the campaign due to injury.

The Senegalese international moved on loan to Champions League outfit Brest instead as Brighton triggered an extra year on the contract he signed from Slavia Prague in 2021. According to Koppen, the Ibrox club were committed in their pursuit of the attacker but couldn't bring Sima back to the club.

“The impression was that we weren’t going to go back for Sima, but that’s not the case,” he says.

“We made an effort to bring Sima back to Glasgow permanently with a good offer, a higher fee than the one we agreed for Oscar Cortes. We tried to convince the player and the agent but the numbers were unrealistic so we pushed back on it."

(Image: Alan Harvey - SNS Group) Cortes meanwhile, signed on an initial loan from Lens before a loan-to-buy obligation was agreed this summer, has suffered three separate injuries in 2024. The Colombian’s quality has been obvious in flashes although many have questioned why a fee was committed if there were concerns about the 20-year-old’s durability.

“Oscar came in with a blank injury record. No injuries, no scans, everything was perfect,” Koppen says.

“We’re looking into it as a club. I'm still confident in the move to bring him here. We signed him on a five-year deal and still believe in his potential over a longer period.

Another lengthy saga this summer was the pursuit of Jose Cordoba. The 23-year-old joined Norwich instead of Rangers from Levski Sofia in Bulgaria.

Like the identification of Diomande, Rangers’ attempt to sign Cordoba took the form of a lengthy process. Koppen flew himself to meet the player in America and watch the Panama international in action while Cordoba attended a 4-1 win over Kilmarnock at the tail end of last season. Everything was in place to bring the left-sided defender to Glasgow. In the end, doubts surrounding the player caused the club to back out.

“A lot of work had been done and we got to a point where everything was agreed,” says Koppen.

“The player was here in Glasgow and attended a game but we didn’t really feel that passion to come and play for Rangers.”

That detail, Koppen says, is important for him and his team. Background work on new signings and talks to try and explain the potentials and pitfalls of playing for a unique club like Rangers all take place. In trying to build a new culture at the club recruiting the right characters is essential.

“While there was an agreement in place, we decided that we can’t have a player at Rangers who has already started to doubt if this is the best place for him before he’s played a minute of football,” he adds.

“It’s unfortunate because of how much work goes into the process but at the end of the day, you need to ask are we comfortable with the situation?”

While Koppen concedes this squad remains a work in progress, he also believes it’s stronger than last season, younger and leaner. With far less money being spent on wages and a greater room for growth.

“We want this club to be successful and to be winning. Then you know you have players performing who can make a step to a bigger league, which makes it easier to recruit better players going forward,” he adds.

One of the topics new players are presented during the final checks and balances of a transfer is the ability to “write your own story” at Rangers. It’s a place where, when things go right, few places in the world can rival. And of course, when things go wrong, few can match.

Player-trading has now been a phrase banded about for the best part of a decade in Govan with the past few years have been spent trying to claw back the high ground lost in 2021. The only way back? Long-term thinking, picking fights, winning them and sticking to a plan. And how to buy the time? As Simon Rolfes told the Athletic, director of sport at Bayer Leverkusen, “In football, you can think five years ahead, just as long as you win the next game." The proof, especially at Ibrox, will always be in the winning.