The story we’re seeing in recent days that Rangers don’t want to sell Youssef Chermiti is another example of Andrew Cavenagh at his best.
Footmercato, the French site that broke the Chermiti and Braga story in the first place has since claimed that Rangers are unwilling to part with the Portuguese.
They claim Derek McInnes sees the lad as vital to the road forward.
This is both true, and false.
Chermiti did show some signs of bizarre brilliance on occasion, and his numbers overall were very impressive. The devil is in the detail but we’ll leave that for another time.
Rangers are happy to keep him, and McInnes isn’t against that notion given the player is in demand and has good attributes.
However, Andrew Cavenagh proved he’s a canny operator. He said the same about Danny Rohl, that he was to be Rangers’ coach going forward and the club were right behind him.
He was gone inside a month.
Cavenagh knows how to get the big quids for his assets. Chermiti was signed under his watch and he has no intention of letting him go for anything below what he deems a fair profit.
The Portuguese cost around £8M rising to £11M. And yes, the £11M was long ago reached.
So Rangers do not intend to sell for much below £25M. This is a business and it expects contemporary prices.
Hence the message getting out that McInnes is happy with Chermiti and doesn’t intend to sell is exactly the right message.
If Lyon really want Chermiti, they have to bid big. They cannot get him for the desired sub-£20M they hoped for. They have to go much bigger.
This is Rangers’ model now.
Assets go for what they’re worth and Rangers do not get short-changed.
If Lyon want Youssef Chermiti, they are going to have to do better than the modest numbers.
And otherwise, Rangers are indeed happy to keep him and build around he and Shankland.