Why Rangers must sign £8.5m Gassama replacement after selling Antman

Glasgow Rangers officially confirmed that Oliver Antman has completed a permanent move to Belgian side Anderlecht on Wednesday night.

The Finland international has joined the Pro League outfit for a fee of more than £4m, just one year on from his £3.5m transfer from Go Ahead Eagles.

Antman only played 16 times in the Scottish Premiership in the 2025/26 campaign, scoring one goal, and he has departed without ever playing a competitive game under McInnes.

The Finnish attacker is not the only wide player who could face the consequences of the change in management, though, as Djeidi Gassama may struggle for game time this season.

Why Djeidi Gassama is in trouble at Rangers

Signed for £2.2m from Sheffield Wednesday last summer, the Mauritania international started 28 of his 36 appearances in the Premiership last term after his former Owls boss, Danny Rohl, took the reins.

The former Paris Saint-Germain youngster only scored three goals in those 38 appearances in the league, though, and has yet to prove that he can deliver consistent quality in the final third.

In pre-season under McInnes, Thelo Aasgaard has been trialled as one of the wide players on the left, drifting infield to create space for Tuur Rommens on the overlap.

The Norway international was more productive in front of goal than Gassama in the league, with more combined goals and assists in seven fewer starts, and could be a more effective option for the new boss on the left side.

That means that the former Wednesday star may be in trouble because he may not be the first-choice in his preferred position on the left wing, if Aasgaard gets the nod ahead of him for tactical reasons.

How Rangers could replace Gassama this summer

There could be even more bad news for Gassama, on top of that, as the club are also looking to add another wide player on the right flank, after he started 15 games on that side last term.

The Scottish Sun reports that Glasgow Rangers are eyeing up a deal to sign Besiktas attacker Vaclav Cerny to bolster McInnes’ options on the right wing.

It reveals that the £4.5m fee that the club are set to rake in from Anderlecht for Antman is set to be reinvested back into the squad to sign a new winger, and that the Czechia international is on their radar as a potential permanent signing.

However, The Scottish Sun does not reveal how much they are willing to pay for the 28-year-old Besiktas star, who was recently touted at a fee of £8.5m.

A deal to bring Cerny back to Ibrox, if they are willing to meet the Turkish side’s £8.5m valuation of the forward, would be bad news for Gassama because it would further reduce his chances of starting games on a regular basis.

Whilst Aasgaard could force his way into contention as a starter on the left, the ex-Wolfsburg attacker could arrive and lock down the right wing position under McInnes, based on his form for the club on loan in the 2024/25 campaign.

Cerny created more than twice as many chances in his season in the Premiership as Gassama did in the division last season, whilst also scoring four times as many goals.

He also did all of that in five fewer appearances for the Scottish giants, which speaks to the incredible attacking quality that he can offer in the division on a regular basis.

The Czechia international also scored five goals and provided eight assists in the Turkish Super Lig for Besiktas in the 2025/26 campaign, scoring more goals and supplying more assists than Gassama did for the Gers.

Cerny, therefore, could arrive at Ibrox to hit the ground running as a marquee addition to the squad on the right flank, as an experienced and proven attacking talent who knows how to make a big impact week-in-week-out at Ibrox.

Between Aasgaard emerging as a viable left-sided option in pre-season and Cerny potentially re-signing to start on the right, Gassama could find himself in awkward position where he does not get as many minutes as he did last term.

It will then be down to the forward to prove to McInnes that he has more to offer at the top end of the pitch and that he can be more consistent with his end product.