The managers of Rangers and Celtic might be shopping in two different transfer markets at the moment but both seem to be doing sterling work in bringing in the best possible talent afforded to them this summer.

Rangers have hired Mark Warburton as their new boss and the Englishman seems to be using all of his knowledge of England’s lower leagues to bring in young, hungry players that can come in and help the Gers stride towards a challenge for the Championship title.

Warburton and his number two Davie Weir have also decided that to gain long-term success at Ibrox they need to start by building solid foundations at the back.

That has seen them bring in two new centre-backs as their first signings at the club.

Former Gers defender Danny Wilson has returned after helping Hearts win the second tier title last term. The former Jambos captain has valuable experience at this level and has pace that is needed in the heart of defence these days.

Warburton has also brought in Rob Kieran, a player he knows well. The twenty-four year old seems like the model professional and hungry to help Rangers break back into Scotland’s top flight.

Youngsters Jordan Gibson and Tom Lang have joined the club’s academy as Warburton looks for gems that could provide the team with great long-term prospects.

The club have also brought in a few trialists including Andy Halliday and Reece Wabara. Both players determined to make things happen after spells in the lower leagues in England.

Former Middlesbrough man Halliday has always seemed to have had something about him whenever I’ve seen him play but consistency seems to be an issue with the twenty-three year old. He’ll be determined to make a go of things if given a chance in Govan.

Wabara is a former Manchester City youth who made one English Premier League (EPL) appearance for the side back in 2011. After various loans spells away from the Etihad, Reece would join Doncaster Rovers in a permanent move last term and played in fifty League One encounters for Donny. He left the English side this summer with the view of playing for a bigger club. That could see the pacey, energetic full-back move to Ibrox.

Glasgow’s blue half also seem to be interested in goalie Wes Foderingham. The former England youth international has been released by Swindon Town even though he impressed at the Robins during his four year stay. Wes could provide stiff competition for Cammy Bell’s number one spot and competition is always a great thing between keepers as one usually excels when they win the battle. The twenty-four year old is a good shot-stopper who commands his area well (that is straight from a Swindon Town fan who was disappoint to see him leave).

Finally Rangers have seen that they can’t just bring back old heroes and play one dimensional football. They needed to be cuter in the transfer window and that seems to be happening with Mark Warburton in charge. The Englishman seems to want a lean squad that is full of committed professionals ready for a long hard season ahead.

Over in the city’s east-end, Celtic boss Ronny Deila is also plundering England for new young recruits that can come in and improve his squad!

His targets have come in from a higher level though with Dedryck Boyata coming in from Man City and Saidy Janko joining from City’s rivals Manchester United.

Boyata really should have had more first team games under his belt but injuries have stalled his career. The fact he was at Man City and up against formidable teammates for a place in the team didn’t help. But that said the central defender has made more than twenty-five EPL appearances and has also been selected for the Belgium national team. The defender strolled through his debut against Den Bosh this week, showing some good touches on the ball and a decent turn of pace. Not bad for a player that cost little over £1m and who will want to get his career back on track.

Saidy is a Swiss under-19 international who won Man Utd’s reserve player of the year award in 2014. He failed to make his mark at senior level with United and was loaned out last season to Bolton Wanderers. At the Trotters he would work under former Celts manager Neil Lennon, who was impressed by the right-back, stating:

“He’s got real pace and power, which is always an asset”

“He was a little bit tentative to start with on his debut, but he grew into the game.”

“Once he was in full flow in the second half he made us better, he took us up the pitch”

The Celtic faithful love a marauding full-back who has good speed and can work back too. If Janko can show this at Celtic park then he could be a real bargain for the Hoops. They also like player who respects the club and would have been thrilled with Jankos comments during his first Celtic press conference:

“Even the big players like Messi, Xavi, they dream about the atmosphere at Celtic Park,”

“I know Celtic are a massive club in Europe, all over the world everyone knows Celtic. The supporters, the stadium, everything is huge.”

Janko’s arrival seems to have signalled the end of Adam Matthews Celtic career, with the Welshman set for a £2m move to Sunderland.

Deila and the Celtic board have used that familiar model of picking up talented prospects that they hope will shine when they are exposed to plenty of first team opportunities at Parkhead. They will then hope that these new recruits can help propel the side into the promised land of the Champions League. They would then likely sell them on for a tidy profit and do the same thing all over again. Not many teams seem to be able to do it quite as well as the Hoops do.

Both Deila and Warburton have talked about working with smallish squads and to maximise those squads to their full potentials. Although you’d imagine that both sides will want to strengthen their frontline positions before the season kicks-off.

The two managers will be working on different budgets and will have different objectives for the season ahead but both will want to see their sides play attractive football and gain success at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.

It’s refreshing to see two up and coming managers managing in Glasgow and trying to move away from the days of unimaginative signings and lacklustre training methods.

I suppose only time will tell if both Mark Warbuton and Ronny Deila can succeed this season. But I bet it will be entertaining as we watch on to find out!

Posted on July 3rd, 2015 by scott
Filed under: Article