21/04/2025 13:00
At one point, it looked like Rangers had built the sort of stability that was needed for sustained success at home and abroad.
The Rangers squad that won the Scottish Premiership took three years to build, had the title wrapped up in March and was top of the league when Steven Gerrard left for Aston Villa, despite not starting their defence on all cylinders.
Almost overnight, Celtic went from treble winners to a shambles, seemingly years behind Rangers and the laughing stock of Scottish football.
What happened in the summer of 2019, a couple of years before the title win, is the sort of thing that wouldn't surprise Rangers fans now if a similar incident was to arise out of Ibrox.
An infamous leaked list of potential transfer targets that Celtic were watching emerged online with a couple of big names and two of a Rangers persuasion too.
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Leaked Celtic transfer list that shows Rangers demise
In 2019, Rangers could compete with Celtic for almost any player. Similar transfer fees were being paid and the Gerrard factor was more than enough to bring players like Jermain Defoe north of the border.
As with Rangers, a lot of Celtic's recruitment involved looking to England, the fringes of Premier League squads and out of contract potential in the lower leagues.
The two notable names that were on the list, were Chelsea captain Reece James, and Fikayo Tomari, who was at Stamford Bridge but is now in Serie A with AC Milan.
Both were available on loan deals but it is the two who Celtic were looking to sign permanently that stand out.
Rangers were able to beat Celtic to sign both of them, however, with Brendan Rodgers now being allowed to splash out £9m on a backup striker, those days are long gone – unless the San Francisco 49ers get the chequebook out.
The two players on Celtic shopping list that Rangers signed
Joe Aribo was starring for Charlton Athletic and Brandon Barker had impressed on a series of loan spells before his contract at Man City was set to expire.
Both chose Rangers but have suffered mixed fortunes since.
Aribo has just been relegated with Southampton, although he has shown that he is more than capable of being a Premier League player.
Sadly, Barker is without a club and hasn't played all season.
Approaching his peak years, it looks like he will have to lower his expectations to get his career back on track.
For a player who was one of Man City's most promising players and who was widely regarded as the best in training at Rangers, it's been quite the fall from grace since the days of an Old Firm transfer battle.
