Rangers Face Challenge After Chermiti Injury as Driouech Joins
Rangers’ summer took a brutal twist at Ibrox on Sunday. Their most valuable forward, Youssef Chermiti, now faces “a significant period of time” out with an ACL injury, just hours after the club had knocked back a major offer from Galatasaray.
The 22-year-old crumpled into the pitchside boards in the first half of the defeat to Hibernian, the kind of innocuous-looking collision that draws a sharp intake of breath rather than immediate panic. He didn’t get back up. Chermiti left the stadium in a protective boot and knee brace, the image of a season plan suddenly torn at the edges.
For Derek McInnes, still hunting his first win as Rangers manager after three games, it was a double hit: a damaging result and the loss of his most dangerous striker.
“Disappointed for the big fella that he has to come off on a stretcher,” McInnes said afterwards. “I thought he was looking bright and running gaps. He played with a bit of purpose and there's no doubt we missed that, but he's left in a boot and his knee in a brace.”
Rangers know exactly what they are losing. Signed from Everton last summer in a deal worth up to £10m, Chermiti delivered 15 goals and five assists across all competitions in his first season at Ibrox. At 22, capped by Portugal at U21 level, he had become both the present and the future of the club’s attack.
That output, and his trajectory, have pushed Rangers’ valuation of him beyond the club-record fee received for Calvin Bassey, who joined Ajax for an initial £19.6m in 2023. Galatasaray tested that stance with a big-money bid; Rangers refused to blink. The message was clear: Chermiti was central to the project.
“It's no surprise that he's a player who's got a big tag on him and he's got high potential,” McInnes added. “But thankfully he's our player and that will continue to be the case.”
Now the project has to be reshaped on the fly.
Driouech deal agreed as rebuild accelerates
The timing of the injury throws even more weight on a recruitment drive that was already aggressive. Rangers have made nine signings this summer and are not finished yet. In fact, they are about to hit double figures.
A £6.5m deal is in place for winger Couhaib Driouech from PSV Eindhoven, with the player completing his medical and paperwork ahead of a move to Ibrox. Burnley and Celta Vigo had both shown interest, but Rangers have won that race.
Driouech arrives with numbers that hint at end product rather than promise alone: 12 goals in 61 games for PSV, three of those in the Champions League last season, plus 10 assists. Born in Holland, he has already worked his way through Heerenveen and Excelsior and has been capped by Morocco at U23 level. This is not a shot in the dark; it is a targeted move for pace, width and incision.
The need for that cutting edge has only sharpened with Chermiti sidelined. Rangers suddenly require goals and threat from wider areas to compensate for the loss of their focal point.
At the club’s shareholder meeting on Monday, chairman Andrew Cavenagh underlined just how busy the final weeks of the window will be. Rangers, he confirmed, plan to add between three and five more players before the deadline.
Defensive rebuild on the clock
It will not all be about replacing Chermiti’s influence. The backline is also under review and is expected to be reinforced before Scotland’s 5pm deadline on September 3.
Aston Villa right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic has emerged as a possible option after initial talks, while Hugo Siquet of Club Brugge is also under consideration. On the opposite flank, Rangers have explored a move for former Hearts left-back James Penrice, now with AEK in Greece.
These are not marquee names, but they point to a clear strategy: younger, mobile, technically comfortable defenders to underpin a more expansive side. If the forward line is being built around dynamism and resale value, the defence is being dragged in the same direction.
Rangers began the summer determined to build around Youssef Chermiti. One awkward collision has forced a rewrite.
The board have turned down big money for their striker, lined up a £6.5m winger, and signalled that as many as five more faces could arrive before the window shuts. The question now is not whether they are ambitious enough. It is whether they can move quickly and cleverly enough to keep their season on track without the man they had planned to lead it.
