Glasgow Rangers are not messing around in the summer transfer window. They have already made several moves in an attempt to bolster Russell Martin’s first-team squad.
Lyall Cameron, Max Aarons, Joe Rothwell, and Emmanuel Fernandez had all already arrived through the door at Ibrox before the signing of Thelo Aasgaard was made official.
The Norway international has joined Rangers from south of the border in a permanent deal that is reported to be worth around £3.5m.
Aasgaard, as a player who has predominantly been deployed as an attacking midfielder or off the left flank in his career, could be viewed as their replacement for Ianis Hagi, who left the club on a free transfer this summer.
There are still attacking reinforcements to come for the Light Blues, though, as they have yet to replace Vaclav Cerny, who recently returned to Wolfsburg.
The Czechia international spent the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Ibrox, gracing the right flank each week, and they will need to replace the quality he provided in the final third.
Why Rangers must replace Vaclav Cerny
You only have to take a brief glance at the kind of numbers Cerny put up during his time at Rangers to know that the club were dealt a big blow when his loan deal expired.
The left-footed star produced 18 goals and nine assists in 52 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants, which shows that he provided quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals from the right wing.
12 of those goals and four of those assists for the Light Blues came in the Scottish Premiership, as he showcased his ability to make a big impact on a regular basis in the top-flight.
Cerny was also unlucky to only end the season with four assists to his name in the division, as his teammates let him down too many times with their wasteful finishes.
Goals
12
Top 6%
xG
9.03
Top 6%
xG on target
11.03
Top 6%
Assists
4
Top 25%
xA
8.41
Top 1%
Chances created
81
Top 1%
As you can see in the table above, the left-footed star racked up an eye-catching 8.41 xA tally, the most of any winger in the league, but was only rewarded with four assists.
Overall, these statistics show that it will take a lot to find a quality replacement for Cerny, because he delivered goals and created chances at an exceptional rate for the Gers last season.
However, Rangers are now reportedly eyeing up a potential deal for a winger who could come in as a perfect replacement for the Czechia international.
Rangers pursuing new winger deal
According to reports in Brazil, as relayed by the Daily Record, Rangers are pursuing a deal to sign Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Weslley Patati this summer.
It is claimed that the Light Blues are one of a number of teams interested in the winger, though, as AZ Alkmaar, Al Wahda, Al Ain, and Girona are also keen on signing him, which shows that there is plenty of competition for his signature.
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Unnamed teams from the Premier League and the Championship in England are also keeping tabs on his situation, adding even more potential suitors to the list.
Maccabi Tel Aviv have already rejected £3.5m offers from several clubs, including AZ, and are said to be looking for a fee within the region of £9m for the 21-year-old attacker.
It now remains to be seen whether or not the Scottish giants are prepared to pay the £9m that may be required to bring the Brazilian dynamo to Ibrox before the summer transfer window slams shut at the start of September.
Why Rangers should sign Weslley Patati
The Light Blues should push to bring the left-footed star to Glasgow in the coming weeks, whether it is for that fee or potentially a reduced one if they can lower it in negotiations, because he could be a perfect replacement for Cerny.
As a left-footed forward who predominantly plays on the right, although he can also play off the left wing, Patati could be a dream signing to take the Czechia international’s place in the starting XI.
Like Cerny, Patati is a winger who likes to cut in on his left foot from the right flank to deliver goals and assists on a regular basis, using his ability on the ball to constantly make things happen in the final third.
Analyst Kai Watson claimed that the forward is “so good with the ball at his feet that he’s difficult to stop”, which is backed up by his impressive statistics for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2024/25 campaign.
Appearances
30
33
Goals
12
12
Big chances missed
6
6
Big chances created
17
6
Key passes per game
1.4
2.5
Assists
6
4
Dribbles completed per game
1.7
1.4
As you can see in the table above, Patati caught the eye with his contributions as both a scorer and a creator of goals from the right wing, just as Cerny did.
He scored as many goals as Cerny did at league level, with the same level of efficiency in ‘big chances’, whilst also creating a whopping 11 more ‘big chances’ for his teammates.
This suggests that the potential is there for the Brazilian starlet to come in as a potential upgrade, whilst offering a similar stylistic option to the Gers, on the wing, because of his goalscoring pedigree and his consistency as a creative threat.
Of course, he has yet to prove himself in the Premiership, and it remains to be seen if he can adapt to Scottish football, but the 21-year-old ace appears to have all the tools available to be a real success at Ibrox as a replacement for Cerny.
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Therefore, the Gers should push hard to win the race for his signature, amid fierce competition, because the goals and assists he has the potential to deliver from the right wing could make supporters forget all about the Wolfsburg loanee.