Martin Eyes Rangers reunite with the “sublime” star

The Glasgow Rangers have recently taken huge steps in the transfer market, bringing two new signatures.

Russell Martin has been working tirelessly recently to secure the signatures of both Bournemouth and Peterborough United defender Emmanuel Fernandez’s Joe Rothwell.

Rothwell played under Martin during his 2023/24 campaign on loan with Southampton, scoring four times in 20 games as the club secured a promotion to the Premier League.

Fernandez may not be as well established as a player, as he struggled with League One in 2024/25, but his possibilities are endless. Martin may have unearthed a jewel at the age of 23.

With the two joining Max Aaron and Ryal Cameron as new arrivals this summer, Martin hopes to be able to slowly build their teams, win the Premiership title and advance to the Champions League group stage.

It will require more signatures over the next few weeks for your boss to achieve this, with several others linked.

However, the current team is short on wingers, which will require quick action in the first competition match against Panatinaicos in a few weeks.

Martin cannot call for the services of Vaclav Cerny, who returned to his parent club at the end of the season.

Vaclav Cerny’s Rangers Statistics

The Czech winger joined from Wolfsberg last summer, with Philip Clement trying to bolster his attack options.

The first few weeks at the age of 27 were tough, but he settled into life at Ibrox, scoring 18 goals and earning nine assists for the Light Blues in 52 games.

On top flight, Cerny registered 2.9 shots per game on GERS, averaged 2.5 key passes and succeeded with 1.4 dribbling per game against the Scottish opposition.

It was in the Europa League that Winger really showed off his class. Not only did he help the club reach the quarterfinals of the competition, but Cerny registered eight goal contributions along the way (6 goals and two assists).

Despite this success in Glasgow, the permanent move was not really an issue. Wolfsberg was trying to get back the money they spent on him to sanction the sale.

That price? £8 million. This was reported in January, but it appears as if the boat had sailed in regards to the movement to bring Cerny back to Ibrox.

Whatever this summer, bringing one or two wingers on either side should be a major priority for managers.

As it stands, only his wide range of options are Ross McAustrand, Oscar Cortez and Rabbi Matondo. One fell behind Cerny in the pecking order, one injured for the majority of the season, and Mutondo spent the second half of the 2024/25 campaign on loan.

Will Martin be seeing his former players reunite in the coming weeks?

Rangers look for a new winger

Ibrox’s side has linked it to a significant share of wide men over the past few weeks. Kwame Poku was a notable link, but he ended up moving to QPR.

Elsewhere, Tyrhys Dolan and Moussa Djenepo had linked their move to Glasgow a few weeks ago, but nothing happened.

It takes time before the clash with the Greek giants, and Martin now needs to find a player who can settle for his way of playing.

According to Sky Sports, it appeared David Brooks would be planning to join West Bromwich Albion, but the move has been turned off.

This led to the £50,000 per week winger opening the door to reunite with Glasgow’s Martin. Of course, Buggy’s target was played under the Rangers boss during the spell at Southampton in the 2023/24 campaign.

He only has one year left on his current contract with Cherry. This means that Light Blues could be on the way to secure bargains.

If so, Brooks is a great addition and hopefully can ease the blow of losing Cerny.

Why the Rangers must sign David Brooks

Brooks spent a great time when he moved to Bournemouth in 2018. In his first season, the Welsman scored seven goals and five assists in the Premier League, certainly proved his class.

Certainly, Eddie Howe, the boss at the time, praised Brooks as “sublime” after an impressive display against Brighton.

The truth is that he has been fighting bravely after being diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma in October 2021, but he hasn’t attacked those heights at all. The Winger scored twice over the appearance of 29 top flights in the previous period.

Despite starting just nine innings, he still averaged 0.9 shots per game, creating three big chances and an average of 0.7 key passes.

If given a regular chance at the Start XI, Brooks will be an exciting signature. There is no doubt about that.

In 2023/24 under Saint Martin, the Welsh star grabbed five assists, created eight big opportunities, and succeeded in over 50% of his dribbling attempts.

These statistics were recorded in tier 2, which shows how effective Brooks would be if he got the chance.

Although some effort is needed to match the tally recorded by Cerny last season, Brooks has already proven his Premier League class in his career.

By passing through the ball and holding the ball, the winger could control the defender north of the border.

The only sticking point may be the fee. But as mentioned before, he remains in his trade for a year.

Given that Martin previously worked with the 35-cap winger, it’s a signature that makes sense for all involved. Hopefully it can be sewn faster than late.