Rangers are preparing to knock back an offer from Lyon for Youssef Chermiti, with the French club’s proposal reportedly falling well short of what it would take to prise the striker away from Ibrox this summer.
It’s not hard to see why suitors are circling. Chermiti’s first season in Scotland was a genuine breakout campaign, with the 22-year-old netting 15 goals in 41 appearances — numbers that have made a lengthy stay at Rangers look increasingly unlikely just twelve months after he arrived. That kind of return in a debut season tends to draw exactly this sort of early transfer speculation, and several clubs across Europe are said to be weighing up a move.
PSV Eindhoven have been mentioned as one interested party, but it’s Lyon who have made the more concrete move. Their sudden entry into the race is tied to a specific need: with Endrick’s loan spell from Real Madrid now over, the Ligue 1 club is short a recognised centre-forward and, according to French outlet Foot Mercato, has identified Chermiti as a leading option to fill that gap.
Lyon’s opening approach is reported to be built around an initial fee of €14 million, with a further €4 million available through add-ons — bringing the total potential package to around €18 million. Rangers, however, have made their position clear to Benjamin Charrier, Lyon’s head of recruitment: Chermiti isn’t for sale before the transfer window closes, regardless of the exact structure of the bid. That leaves Lyon with little choice but to go back and reconsider whether they’re willing to raise their offer.
For context on what it might actually take, Rangers’ record sale remains Calvin Bassey’s €23 million move to Ajax back in 2022. Given how strongly the club is said to value Chermiti, a fee in that same neighbourhood looks like the realistic starting point for any bid with a genuine chance of success — meaning Lyon’s current proposal would need a significant uplift before Ibrox chiefs even consider it seriously.
Chermiti’s situation is unfolding against the backdrop of a genuinely active summer at Ibrox, where Derek McInnes has taken over as head coach following Danny Röhl’s departure. On the incomings side, goalkeeper Ivor Pandur has arrived from Hull City for around €7 million to become the club’s new number one, while Ross McCrorie has returned to Rangers from Bristol City for roughly €1.3 million. Free transfers have also boosted the squad, with Lawrence Shankland joining from Hearts and Dan Neil arriving from Sunderland on Bosman moves, while Ben Godfrey has come in on loan from Atalanta.
There’s been outgoing business too. Jack Butland has moved to Hull City for around €3.5 million, Ben Davies has joined Bolton Wanderers as a free agent, and Bailey Rice has been sent out on loan to Kilmarnock. In a more symbolic departure, club captain James Tavernier has left Ibrox following the expiry of his contract, closing a lengthy chapter at the club.
Against that backdrop of turnover, holding firm on Chermiti looks like a deliberate statement of priorities from the new regime — a sign that, whatever else changes at Ibrox this summer, the club isn’t willing to let its most productive attacking talent go cheaply after just one season.
