Glasgow Rangers did not hold back in their recruitment over the summer transfer window as they added a host of players to Michael Beale's first-team squad.
Who did Rangers sign this summer?
The Light Blues head coach snapped up nine new recruits to bolster his options across the pitch with the view of competing for trophies during the 2023/24 campaign.
Cyriel Dessers
Permanent
Danilo
Permanent
Sam Lammers
Permanent
Jose Cifuentes
Permanent
Kieran Dowell
Permanent
Dujon Sterling
Permanent
Leon Balogun
Permanent
Jack Butland
Permanent
Abdallah Sima
Loan
Eight of the additions came in on a permanent basis, with four of those being free transfers. Sima, meanwhile was brought in on loan from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.
Three strikers were signed by Beale to improve his forward line after Alfredo Morelos and Antonio Colak departed Ibrox earlier this summer; with Dessers, Lammers, and Danilo arriving from Cremonese, Atalanta, and Feyenoord respectively.
Rangers were linked with a number of other centre-forward options throughout the summer transfer window and one player they were touted with an interest in was Josh Maja.
Did Rangers nearly sign Josh Maja?
According to a report from Football Scotland at the end of June, the Light Blues had the Nigeria international on their list of targets after they had already snapped up Dessers and Lammers.
The outlet named him alongside Danilo as two number nines who were on Beale's radar as the English head coach wanted to add a third striker to his squad before the window slammed shut.
Instead of moving for Maja, Rangers ended up securing a deal to sign the Brazilian attacker from Dutch side Feyenoord for a reported fee of up to £6m and that was the last piece of business that the Scottish giants did in terms of adding to their attacking arsenal.
Where is Josh Maja now?
After the Gers opted to go with another target, the Nigerian dynamo went on to sign for English Championship side West Bromwich Albion.
He was available on a free transfer after his contract with Bordeaux in Ligue 2 expired following their failure to earn promotion back to the top flight of French football, which opened the door for him to return to his country of birth.
The 24-year-old finisher has endured a difficult start to life in England this year, however, as he has failed to break into the starting XI for the Baggies, with four appearances as a substitute so far.
He has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.70 across those four outings and has been unable to do enough to convince Carlos Corberan that he is ready to start, with one 'big chance' missed and zero 'big chances' created for his teammates. Clearly, he has done very little when actually afforded a chance.
The 5 foot 11 striker has also lost 100% of his aerial battles and, therefore, struggled with the physical tests that the Championship provides.
Maja also failed to find the back of the net in the last four matches of the Ligue 2 season last term for Bordeaux, which means that he is currently on a goalless run of eight competitive games.
How many goals has Maja scored?
The new Baggies striker did plunder 16 league goals for the French side in 34 outings in total last season but that was an outlier for the Nigerian marksman in recent years.
He produced a solitary strike in 15 Championship matches on loan at Stoke City during the 2021/22 campaign and that came off the back of five goals in 32 Premier League and Ligue 1 games combined for Fulham and Bordeaux the previous term.
In total, Maja has scored 60 goals in 208 appearances throughout his youth and senior club career to date, which also includes his time with Sunderland at academy and first-team level.
Danilo, on the other hand, had shown himself to be a consistent scoring threat throughout his time in the Netherlands and, on paper, was always better option than the English-born ace.
How many goals has Danilo scored?
The Brazil U23 international has racked up 89 goals, along with 18 assists, in 183 club career matches so far, which works out as a strike every 2.06 outings on average.
Whereas, Maja has averaged a goal every 3.47 games throughout his career, indicating that Danilo has the potential to offer far more when it comes to being a reliable scorer for the Light Blues.
The 24-year-old produced ten goals and three assists in 14 Eredivisie starts for Feyenoord last season and his form for the Dutch club came after an incredibly prolific spell with Ajax's youth teams.
Rangers' summer signing fired in an outstanding 47 goals in 73 U19 and U21 matches combined, which is one every 1.55 appearances on average, whilst he also managed nine goals in 20 appearances for their first team.
How many goals has Danilo scored this season?
The former Feyenoord ace has scored two goals in nine outings for the Gers so far this term, which includes one goal in one Scottish Premiership start. Evidently, he has not enjoyed a prolific start to life in Scotland.
However, his impressive statistics in the Netherlands suggest that there is far more to come from Danilo as he has been a reliable scorer throughout his career and has already shown glimpses, with his two strikes, of his attacking prowess for the Ibrox giants.
The Brazilian hotshot, whose winning goal against Greenock Morton in the League Cup is shown above, has had a more impressive start to life for Rangers than Maja has had for West Brom, given their respective records.
Their career goal tallies also suggest that Danilo has more potential as a consistent scorer than the Nigeria international would have done if Beale had snapped him up.
Therefore, the Gers head coach certainly dodged a bullet by deciding to go with the £6m-rated ace instead of signing the Sunderland academy graduate. Hopefully, his decision will continue to be vindicated throughout the season and over the years to come.
