Philippe Clement has vowed he can transform Rangers into a transfer market powerhouse.
The Ibrox boss has been outspoken on the mishandling of expiring contracts at the club in the past but is confident of a bright future in player development and a positive trading model.
However, Clement has warned it will take time to grow Rangers’ stature in the market, with previous experience of developing inflated transfer status for players at former clubs Genk and Brugge.
“Yes, for sure but it’s something you need to build,” said Clement of transforming Rangers into a club capable of demanding premium fees in the transfer market. “It’s not something you can do in one year. You also need to build a reputation as a club.
“It’s about the level of the club. If you sell someone for a certain amount and he does really well somewhere else, it opens doors for the next ones.
“People say, ‘Ok, he’s coming from Rangers, that is somewhere to look’.
“That’s something that, for example, Ajax did for a long time. Then if a player was at Ajax or another team, there was a difference in value.
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“Brugge have been doing this for a few years. We started that a little bit at that club.
“They have now sold Thiago for 37 million. So, you see every year these amounts become higher and higher because you have created a reputation.
“That’s something the club needs to do — to be a platform for young players to develop and then take the next step.
“You need time for that. You don’t build a reputation in two or three months.”
One player who could leave Rangers at the end of the season for no fee is Borna Barisic with the left-back out of contract in the summer.
But Clement has quashed rumours the Croatian defender has made his decision to leave the club at the end of the season when quizzed on reports this week.
“I don’t know about any decision,” said Clement. “Borna is training very well and is hungry to play.
“He has come back from injury. He will make his next steps in the next few weeks. No decision has been made.”
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