‘Rangers handed transfer boost as Kevin Thelwell finalises first deal – he knows him well’
The restructuring of Rangers ramped up a notch this week with the appointment of Dan Purdy as the club’s new technical director.
The former Everton head of recruitment will work alongside sporting director Kevin Thelwell – much like he did during their time together at Goodison Park.
Replacing Nils Koppen, who is expected to assist during an initial settling-in period, Thelwell officially started work on Monday (2 June)
Speaking on his first day to the club’s in-house media, Thelwell said: “It’s a great honour to be joining Rangers, particularly at such an exciting moment in the club’s history.
“While there has been significant work going on in the background prior to my arrival, that naturally accelerates from today.”
That activity showed no sign of slowing as the club named Russell Martin as their new head coach, with the 39-year-old arriving just days after the 49ers and Andrew Cavenagh completed their majority takeover at Ibrox.
Aberdeen’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Pittodrie between 2000 and 2004, had lengthy spells as the chief of Everton and Aston Villa and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted Purdy’s appointment should have been rubber-stamped much sooner.
Rangers warned they ‘can’t be left behind’ in the transfer market
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness suggested time is of the essence if Rangers are to steal a march on rivals Celtic in this summer’s transfer window.
While the benefits of Thelwell and Purdy being former colleagues is an added bonus, Wyness insisted it was an appointment that should have been made sooner.
| Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
| 1. Celtic | 38 | 29 | 5 | 4 | 92 |
| 2. Rangers | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 75 |
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Thelwell and Purdy together – they know each other, so that’s good. You need to understand how each other works.
“You need to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and complement each other, so that’s good for them.
“But time is of the essence, and these are decisions that you can’t make quickly, but often have to. That’s where football experience and knowledge comes in.
“It’s the same with Everton and Rangers. They’ve both left a lot of these decisions too late to plan.
“The transfer market is up and running and a lot of activity is happening, so you can’t be left behind.
“At the same time, you’ve got to make sure it’s the right team. This is why we love football, because people will make wrong decisions and right decisions; some will work, some won’t.
“That’s the beauty of it, and we’ll see how it goes.”
‘Jamie Vardy will score goals for fun at Rangers’
Meanwhile, Jamie Vardy has been tipped to ‘score goals for fun’ should he decide to make Rangers his next club and sign on the dotted line at Ibrox.
The 38-year-old is now a free agent after the curtain fell on his 13-year association with Leicester City – a spell which saw him famously lift the Premier League trophy in 2016 as well as the FA Cup five years later.
According to reports, Vardy is weighing up an offer from Rangers – a move which could see him play Champions League football once again.
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