Thelwell hit gold on Rangers star who’s worth more than Chermiti & Ferguson

As Glasgow Rangers head into a new era under Derek McInnes, it’s worth reflecting back on the chaos of last year, with Russell Martin swiftly shown the door following what appeared to be a wayward summer of recruitment under Kevin Thelwell’s watch.

Thelwell, who himself has since departed, was the man at the helm as a string of ultimately flawed signings rocked up at Ibrox, with Joe Rothwell notably sent packing after just six months, while both Oliver Antman and Thelo Aasgaard were on the fringes last season.

Bojan Miovski and Djeidi Gassama only scored ten league goals between them, while only Mikey Moore among the raft of loan signings can be considered a real success.

And yet, Thelwell’s most expensive signing – Youssef Chermiti – could prove to be a real coup for the Gers, the Portuguese striker just one of a handful that the club could make a significant profit on this summer.

Why Rangers should cash in on Chermiti this summer

Eyebrows were well and truly raised when the Light Blues forked out £8m to prise Chermiti from Everton, the 21-year-old having failed to score at all during his time on Merseyside.

To think that just 12 months at the club could make a major profit on him is remarkable, with Ligue 1 side Lyon seemingly the side showing the most notable interest, amid prior links to Besiktas back in January.

As yet, McInnes and co don’t appear ready to budge, although there would be wisdom in cashing in on the towering striker, even after a creditable end to 2025/26.

Indeed, while a hat-trick on the final day took Chermiti to 15 Premiership goals for the season, he did actually only score in eight games, a poor return considering the nature of the price tag.

He was a man for the big occasion, amid his heroics against both Hearts and Celtic, yet the youngster was hardly prolific while proving rather profligate in front of goal, finishing only behind Daizen Maeda for ‘big chances’ missed in the Premiership.

With Lawrence Shankland already in the building, alongside January arrival Ryan Naderi, perhaps there’s even greater reason to cash in, with it not certain that such interest will arise again next summer in Chermiti.

The same could also be true of another of Thelwell’s summer signings…

Why Rangers have struck gold on Thelwell signing

It’s a window that has already seen five new faces arrive in Glasgow, with more potentially where that came from, not least amid interest in former Aberdeen man, Lewis Ferguson.

The issue is, the Bologna skipper is unlikely to come cheap, with any realistic hopes of a deal likely to rest with a swap deal involving Nicolas Raskin, or if the Gers are suddenly flush with cash by selling the likes of Chermiti.

It is Chermiti who is generating the most significant interest right now, but recent months have also seen Emmanuel Fernandez hit the headlines too, with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea keen on the former Peterborough United man.

Signed from the EFL side for a fee of just £3.5m, Fernandez emerged as one of the shining lights of Danny Rohl’s tenure, scoring six times in all competitions from his centre-back berth.

A towering, monster of a defender in both boxes, the 6 foot 5 giant has also now been capped by Nigeria at international level, a fine reward for his meteoric rise over recent months.

Of course, McInnes might well be keen to keep hold of the England-born star, amid the lack of centre-back depth at Ibrox, yet the level of interest might become too great to ignore.

It was only recently claimed that Bayer Leverkusen were pushing to sign Fernandez on what could well be a club-record deal for Rangers, with a fee in excess of £30m having been suggested.

That comfortably eclipses the £17m bid that Lyon are believed to be willing to lodge for Chermiti, with the Gers in line to make an eye-watering profit on Fernandez, should they sanction a sale.

In terms of what Fernandez’s actual market value is, Transfermarkt have placed him as the most valuable player at the club at roughly €18m (£16m), while Chermiti sits in second on €15m (£13m).

Interestingly too, that ensures that the former Posh star is also ahead of the aforementioned Ferguson in that regard, with the Scotland playmaker deemed to be worth €14m (£12m) at present.

That speaks to the level of talent Rangers have on their hands, with Thelwell, even for all the turmoil and turbulence of last summer, at least finding the odd diamond in the rough.

Indeed, Fernandez, if a sale does arise in the near future, might well prove to be the club’s most profitable piece of business ever.