It took until the final minutes of the transfer window for confirmation to become public but by the end of deadline day, Rangers had their man.

Signing a No.10 was the priority for the summer window and Nedim Bajrami’s permanent transfer from Sassuolo represented the profile Rangers set out to recruit months previously.

“He is someone we have kept a close eye on for a period of time and we are glad to add him to our squad,” Philippe Clement said after the move was made official.

“Nedim is a good age, but someone who also has experience of playing in big games and we are glad he has decided Rangers are the right club for him at this point in his career.”

On the same day Todd Cantwell departed for Blackburn Rovers following a prolonged exit saga, Rangers completed the final deal of a window that was far from straightforward. With plenty of work to shrink a wage bill that had run out of control and a frustrating, ongoing waiting game to sell before buying across July and August. The moving parts of the 2024 summer market were very much relevant to the Bajrami deal in isolation - featuring a late twist before a permanent contract was signed and sealed.

Rangers’ transfer window was, in effect, split into two chapters this summer. By June 20 five outfield players had arrived with a collective average age of 20.6 years in Oscar Cortes, Clinton Nsiala, Jefte, Hamza Igamane and Connor Barron. These younger signings on lower wages replaced departing free agents Borna Barisic, John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe.

It would take the Ibrox club another month to make their next addition, Vaclav Cerny, on July 26. As Clement reiterated publicly on more than one occasion, the second stage of the window was dependent on moving players out of the door first. Loan-to-buy deals were increasingly explored as the window progressed while those exits dragged on.

“Some players [were clearly told] months ago before the pre-season started that they would not be part of the project because of circumstances like wages,” Clement said on August 16.

Nedim Bajrami joined Rangers from Sassuolo (Image: Getty)

“We need to lower the amount of wages. It was too expensive last season for the club. So that's also one part of the story. So they know, but they're still here. I cannot do more about that.”

The legacy of previous summers consisting of contrasting recruitment plans and a growing wage bill did not reset upon the close of the 2023/24 season. It took until the final week of the window for Ben Davies to depart on loan while Cantwell and Scott Wright left on deadline day. Earlier in the window moves for Connor Goldson and Sam Lammers had immediately catalysed the arrivals of Cerny and Robin Propper. Other high earners like James Tavernier and Cyriel Dessers were the subject of transfer bids that didn’t materialise in exits.

Sassuolo’s relegation from Serie A had presented Rangers with the opportunity of initially signing Bajrami on loan, a player whose status had been tracked throughout the summer and had impressed members of the recruitment team previously.

The Italian outfit initially didn’t want to lose the 25-year-old on a permanent basis. Given his status as one of the squad’s high earners, a temporary loan was the favoured option ahead of their expected return to the Italian top flight. As the Rangers Review reported during the final week of the window it was loan terms that were initially explored to sign the Albanian international.

It was only during the final days of the window that the terms of the move changed on Sassuolo’s part. The ongoing potential of a loan-to-buy exit for attacker Armand Lauriente, a transfer target for Turkish outfit Galatasaray, put an end to Sassuolo’s plan to send Bajrami on loan. New FIFA rules in place for the 2024/25 season offer clubs just six loan spots (aside from those aged under 21 or club-trained players) with the Italian side retaining just one such spot entering the final days of the window.

With the player believed to have pushed hard for a move to Ibrox and Rangers committed to securing his services a permanent deal was agreed after the possibility of a loan move was ruled out. The transfer fee negotiated was agreed across instalments and viewed as an attractive deal for an internationalist in the prime age of his career.

While Clement inherited a team featuring an array of No.10s the Belgian manager also inherited a squad built in a different manager’s image. Between Ross Wilson’s departure as sporting director in April 2023 and Nils Koppen’s appointment as director of football recruitment eight months later, there was no recruitment figure present over the course of the 2023 summer window.

The speed of attack, method of ball progression and off-ball approach (from a ball-orientated narrow shape, to man-for-man pressing) between Beale and Clement clearly contrast. As such, so do the requirements for the players to carry out either plan. The absence of a consistent, long-term recruitment policy has proven a perfect storm for the squad-building issues that have come to a head at Ibrox this summer. After four seasons of different managers and different styles of play, that was always going to be inevitable. 

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In simple terms, there is a strong contrast in the football Clement wants to play compared to his predecessor. Clement walked into a squad with only one winger (Rabbi Matondo) and a midfield conditioned for a different style of play. For example, Jose Cifuentes and Sam Lammers were both players Beale prioritised for a specific game model that didn't fit into Clement's plans. That’s why acquiring a starting No.10 was viewed as a priority this summer.

Some of those who Beale brought to the club, like Abdallah Sima and Dujon Sterling, thrived under Clement. However, a lack of depth in wide areas and consistent use of square pegs in round holes damaged Rangers as their title bid evaporated last spring.

While Beale wanted technical midfielders to play in combination and enjoy positional freedom, Clement desires individuals who can dominate big spaces in a stricter positional system. For example, Jefte has offered an immediate upgrade on Barisic at left-back and better fit for Clement’s multi-purpose use of full-backs.

In Cerny, Bajrami and Cortes, Rangers will hope to have secured an attacking trio who prove a better fit for the style of play Clement wants to implement in Glasgow.

Bajrami is believed to present a better match for the Belgian as a natural attacking midfielder with the ability to play on the wings, demonstrating his strength in big spaces. There’s also a belief that the Albanian, a key player for his country, can improve playing in a team that dominates most games domestically, compared to fighting at the bottom end of Serie A.

Bajrami scored the quickest goal in Euros history against Italy this summer after 23 seconds (Image: Getty)

Throughout the window Rangers’ plan in the No.10 position shifted towards an individual who could offer flexibility. Clement deviates between using two No.6s and one No.10 (a 4-2-3-1) and one No.6 and two No.8s (4-3-3) which Bajrami capable of filling a connecting role in the middle, as well as operating directly behind the striker or drifting into wide areas.

Neraysho Kasanwirjo’s deadline day move to Ibrox holds some similarities to Bajrami's. A leaner squad means that Rangers were cognisant of the need to acquire individuals who could provide versatility across the squad. Kasanwirjo is capable of playing at right-back, left-back, as a No.6 and centre-back. His education in the Ajax academy and recovery speed in a backline that lacks pace, especially on the right side, were also actors in Rangers’ descision to move for the Feyenoord defender after Davies left on loan for Birmingham.

Bajrami’s deadline day transfer tells the story of Rangers’ overall window with moving parts and external elements. Now alongside others, expectations externally will be placed on the Albanian to contribute and contribute quickly as Clement seeks to build momentum once again.