Ibrox Cleanout Continues: Three More Names Who Could Follow Nedim Bajrami Out The Exit Door As Derek McInnes Reshapes His Rangers Squad

FootballRangers are shaping up to offload a significant number of players before the summer transfer window shuts, with Nedim Bajrami now closing in on a move away from Ibrox that looks set to be followed by several further departures as Derek McInnes presses ahead with what is fast becoming a wholesale squad clearout at the Glasgow giants. Reports indicate that Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Taawoun have reached an agreement in principle over an initial loan deal for the Albania international, with that arrangement understood to carry a buy option worth around £2.5 million should the Saudi club wish to make the move permanent further down the line.

Bajrami’s expected exit comes hot on the heels of Oliver Antman’s own departure from the club, with the Finland international having already completed a switch to Belgian side RSC Anderlecht. The timing of the two exits, arriving in such close proximity to one another, only reinforces the sense that McInnes is in no mood to sentimentally cling on to players who no longer fit into his long-term vision for the squad, regardless of the profile or reputation those individuals may have built up during their time at the club. Bajrami’s departure will bring an end to a two-year stay in Govan, one that began with plenty of promise given his pedigree as a former Sassuolo player, but which now appears to be concluding with the Scottish manager having decided the winger simply does not figure in his plans going forward.

The timing of these exits is notable given that they are unfolding right in the middle of an already hugely active summer for Rangers in the transfer market. Olwethu Makhanya’s arrival from Philadelphia Union was confirmed as the club’s eighth signing of the window, coming just ahead of Rangers’ Premiership opener away at Dundee United on the 31st of July at Tannadice Park. Yet with Bajrami’s exit now edging closer to completion, it seems abundantly clear that further outgoing business remains firmly on the agenda at Ibrox, with McInnes’s broader intentions for reshaping the playing squad becoming increasingly obvious to anyone watching developments closely from the outside.

The situation surrounding Bajrami’s departure

Rangers-focused outlets have been tracking Al-Taawoun’s interest in Bajrami for some time now, and it appears the finer details of his departure are finally being ironed out behind the scenes. While McInnes’s immediate attention in the coming hours will understandably be fixed on preparing his side for the opening league fixture of the new campaign, there remains a strong expectation that further transfer activity, on both the incoming and outgoing fronts, will continue to unfold at the Ibrox club in the days ahead.

According to reporting from the Rangers Review, Bajrami has already been informed by the Scottish head coach that he holds no part to play in his plans for the upcoming 2026-27 campaign, with the Albania international now poised to become the latest recognisable name to make his way out of Ibrox this summer. Respected Scottish football journalist Chris Jack has reported that an agreement has been struck for an initial loan move, with the accompanying option to make the deal permanent set at a fee in the region of £2.5 million, a structure that would allow Al-Taawoun to assess the midfielder over a period of time before committing fully to a permanent transfer.

It is not solely a case of financial considerations either, with Bajrami’s game time having become severely restricted since McInnes took charge, a clear signal from the manager that he intends to build his midfield and attacking options around a different group of personnel entirely. Given the emphatic nature of the message McInnes has delivered to the player regarding his lack of involvement going forward, a swift resolution to his Ibrox exit now appears to be very much in the interests of both player and club alike.

John Souttar also finds himself on the way out

Bajrami is far from the only player who has reportedly been informed that his future lies away from Ibrox this summer. John Souttar is another established figure within the current Rangers squad who McInnes has apparently made clear should now be seeking a new club before the transfer window comes to a close. What makes this particular situation especially intriguing is the fact that it comes despite Rangers appearing relatively short on depth and experience at centre-back, a position where established, experienced options are not always easy to come by in the current market.

Nevertheless, the 29-year-old defender is understood to be someone the former Hearts manager simply does not have full confidence in as he continues shaping his squad according to his own footballing principles and defensive requirements. It remains to be seen whether Rangers will move to bring in fresh defensive reinforcements to compensate for Souttar’s departure, but his looming exit certainly adds another name to what is becoming an increasingly lengthy list of established first-team players being moved on as part of this summer’s extensive overhaul at Ibrox.

A midfield rebuild appears firmly underway

Perhaps the clearest indication of just how significant this summer’s transformation at Ibrox is set to be comes from examining Rangers’ recruitment activity specifically in central midfield. The club have already brought in three new central midfielders during the current window, with Dan Neil, Cammy Devlin, and Vanja Dragojevic all arriving at Ibrox as part of what looks increasingly like a deliberate and carefully coordinated strategy to fundamentally reshape the engine room of McInnes’s Rangers side.

That heavy early investment in fresh central midfield options from the opening weeks of the summer window strongly suggests preparations were already well underway for a broader shake-up of that particular department of the squad, and recent developments regarding some of the club’s more established midfield names only serve to reinforce that impression further.

Nicolas Raskin’s departure from Rangers now appears close to a formality, particularly following an impressive World Cup campaign that has significantly elevated his profile and, in turn, his market value on the continent. Given the level of performances he produced on the international stage over the summer, it seems almost inevitable at this point that a sale will materialise before the transfer window shuts, with interested clubs likely to have taken careful note of his displays.

Mohamed Diomande’s situation, meanwhile, tells a rather different story. The Ivory Coast international’s future had appeared genuinely uncertain in recent times, with plenty of speculation surrounding a potential departure of his own. However, Diomande has gone on to play a prominent role for Rangers throughout pre-season, featuring heavily across the club’s warm-up fixtures, and there is currently little indication that he harbours any intention of leaving Ibrox before the window closes. His continued involvement stands in notable contrast to the uncertainty surrounding several of his midfield teammates.

Connor Barron represents something of a different case entirely. The Scotland international has not featured in a single one of Rangers’ pre-season friendlies as he continues his recovery from injury, and there is a growing suggestion that Barron could ultimately become the second midfielder, alongside Raskin, whom the Ibrox hierarchy would be prepared to sanction a sale for, should the right offer arrive from an interested club. His current absence through injury only adds a further layer of uncertainty to his immediate Ibrox future, at a time when the club already appears to be actively restructuring its options in that area of the pitch.

The bigger picture at Ibrox

Taken together, these various strands of transfer activity paint a clear picture of a Rangers squad undergoing significant and deliberate transformation under McInnes’s stewardship. With eight new arrivals already through the door this summer and further incoming business seemingly still to come, the outgoing side of the ledger is proving just as active, with Antman already gone, Bajrami’s exit closing in, Souttar reportedly told to find a new home, and both Raskin and potentially Barron representing further candidates for departure from the midfield ranks.

For a club that endured a difficult conclusion to the previous campaign, particularly during the post-split fixtures where performances and results notably tailed off, this level of wholesale squad restructuring should come as little surprise. McInnes appears determined to leave no stone unturned in ensuring his Rangers squad is fit for purpose heading into a new season that will bring both domestic Premiership demands and continental European football, with pre-season already underway and the opening league fixture against Dundee United arriving as the first real test of how this reshaped group performs together on the pitch.

Whether the current spate of departures concludes with Bajrami and Souttar, or whether the midfield exodus extends further to include both Raskin and Barron before the window shuts, remains to be seen. What does appear evident, however, is that McInnes has a clear and defined vision for the type of squad he wants to build at Ibrox, and he appears entirely unafraid of moving on established, recognisable names in pursuit of that vision, regardless of reputation or past service to the club. Supporters will now be watching closely to see how the incoming transfer business shapes up to fill the gaps left by this considerable outgoing activity, with further additions likely required, particularly in defence and potentially further reinforcements in midfield, should both Raskin and Barron ultimately follow Bajrami and Souttar out of Ibrox before deadline day arrives.