Rangers May Regret Bosman Transfer Miss as Targeted Player Makes International Debut

Rangers’ Missed Opportunity: Max Johnston and the Changing Transfer Strategy

Nils Koppen’s approach to Scottish talent acquisition has only just begun, with Connor Barron and Lyall Cameron becoming the first local players to join Rangers.

However, the club’s failure to secure promising Scots in the past remains a sore point—particularly when former Auchenhowie prospect Lewis Ferguson is thriving in Serie A.

Ferguson isn’t the only Scottish talent Rangers let slip away, and the international break has once again highlighted one of the club’s biggest recent transfer oversights.

Scotland’s victory over Greece served as a reminder of what might have been for Rangers.

Max Johnston, once heavily linked with the club in 2023, instead moved to Sturm Graz in a bargain deal as his contract ran down.

Fast forward to 2024, and he is now a full Scotland international, proving that Rangers may have missed out on a valuable long-term asset.

Rangers Were Warned About Max Johnston

Many felt that Rangers’ failure to sign Johnston—son of former Ibrox winger Allan Johnston—would come back to haunt them.

Tall, athletic, and technically assured, the former Motherwell right-back was always viewed as a player with significant potential.

Rangers supporters recognized his talent and anticipated his development, making his absence even more frustrating.

David Edgar of the Rangers fan media outlet Heart and Hand was among those who advocated for Johnston’s signing.

At the time of the transfer speculation, he said:

“He’s a player I like a lot, very impressed every time I’ve seen him.

He is one I think we need, we need Scottish players, we should be looking at, but of course, the problem is Tav—who plays in that position.”

While acknowledging that right-back wasn’t necessarily Rangers’ priority at the time, Edgar emphasized the need for succession planning:

“There’s nothing wrong with a bit of competition and future-proofing. But I suppose it comes back to whether it was a key priority for us that summer.

I understand the argument against it, but this is a boy we might look at in the future and regret not signing—just like with Aaron Hickey.

He went to Italy, then down south, and now we’re looking back thinking, ‘We had the chance, and we didn’t take it.’”

New Rangers Strategy Should Prevent Similar Mistakes

Dujon Sterling’s signing in the summer of 2023 demonstrated Rangers’ ability to recruit talented full-backs, but Johnston’s progress highlights why Scottish players should not be ignored.

More importantly, his development serves as a cautionary tale about Rangers’ flawed transfer strategy in recent years.

Scottish football doesn’t produce an abundance of players capable of handling the physical demands of domestic competition while also excelling in Europe.

Johnston was one of the rare few who had the potential to do both.

However, due to instability off the pitch, the absence of a sporting director, and Michael Beale’s excessive control over recruitment, Rangers failed to secure a player who could have been a regular international for the next decade—all for a modest six-figure fee.

With Koppen now overseeing recruitment, Rangers must learn from these past mistakes to ensure that future Scottish talents don’t slip through their grasp.