Rangers favourite Alex McLeish believes the signing of Aberdeen midfielder Ryan Jack was a very “shrewd investment” by the club.
The 25-year-old agreed to swap his key first-team role at Pittodrie for a move to their Scottish rivals at the start of the month, putting pen-to-paper on a three-year deal at Ibrox.
Jack was out of contract at Aberdeen this summer, but Rangers were quick to snap him up ahead of the competition, and former Ibrox manager McLeish believes he will be a fine addition.
McLeish also admitted he was looking forward to seeing the rest of Rangers’ summer signings in action next season, with Pedro Caixinha having signed a further seven players.
Experienced defender Bruno Alves, who won the European Championship title with Portugal last summer, was Caixinha’s first signing of a busy summer.
Fellow Portuguese players Fabio Cardoso, Dalcio and Daniel Candeias were later confirmed by the club, followed by striker Alfredo Morelos, and Mexican international duo Eduardo Herrera and Carlos Pena.
McLeish told Rangers Fans Channel: “It’s fair to say that Pedro picks players that he knows, rather than on the say-so of others. As the Rangers fans do, they’ll always support the new manager.
“They brought in Ryan Jack, he’s the guy who lets other people play. I think that was a very shrewd investment. I’m very excited about the players who have come in.
“I don’t know many of them – they’re not household names – except for Bruno Alves but I’m really looking forward to seeing Rangers once that team can gel.”
Rangers fans could see their eight new signings in action for the first time in a competitive fixture when they take on Progres Niederkorn in the Europa League first qualifying round next week.
The Glasgow giants sealed a potential return to European competition with a third-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership last term, but they must first pass through several gruelling rounds of qualifiers.