Glasgow Rangers made some poor signings during the summer transfer window last year when Michael Beale was in charge at Ibrox.
Big sums of money were spent on the likes of Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers, yet one has missed 20 big chances in the Premiership this season, while the other has been shipped out on loan.
Philippe Clement’s January signings have been positive and, hopefully, this is a sign of things to come from the 49-year-old moving forward.
Although Dessers and Lammers have been poor, were they as bad as some of the signings Pedro Caixinha made when he was in charge of the Light Blues? Eduardo Herrera is a notable example.
How much Rangers paid for Eduardo Herrera
The summer of 2017 was a strange time to be a Rangers supporter. The club had secured promotion the previous year but finished third in the league behind Celtic and Aberdeen.
Caixinha was appointed with the ambition of winning a league title, but the Ibrox side were miles off it, especially considering the players he signed.
UNAM Pumas
189
57
Pumas Morelos
89
20
Santos Leguna
42
6
Necaxa
39
9
Venados
35
7
Rangers
24
2
Tiburones Rojos
13
3
Puebla FC
7
0
New arrivals prior to the 2017/18 campaign included Ryan Jack, Bruno Alves, Carlos Pena and Dalcio, an eclectic mix to say the least.
The Gers spent £1.5m to bring Herrera to Glasgow and, considering their financial situation, it perhaps wasn’t the best idea to splurge on a player who had only played in Mexico prior to his move.
Despite the lavish fee, the club needed another centre-forward to bolster the side and if he was able to get off the ground running, Herrera could endear himself to the supporters.
Eduardo Herrera’s statistics at Rangers
Not only did he cost a lot, but the Mexican was also reportedly earning £20k-per-week at the club, meaning there was pressure to perform straight away. To put that weekly salary into context, it's significantly more than Abdallah Sima's £8.5k. It's more than Nicolas Raskin (£19k) and Kieran Dowell (£16k) too.
He scored his first league goal in just his third match for the Gers, before netting and grabbing an assist in a League Cup tie against Partick Thistle a few weeks later.
This was to be as good as it got for Herrera, however, as he made another 19 scoreless appearances for the club between September and the end of the season.
Steven Gerrard was appointed as the new manager ahead of the 2018/19 season, and he was sent on loan to Santos Laguna once it was clear he wasn’t in the Liverpudlian's future plans, despite having a contract until 2020.
His future was finally settled in January of that year, as his contract was terminated while he went on to join Puebla FC.
Overall, Herrera scored just two goals across 24 matches for the Glasgow side, costing the club £750k-per-goal, a terrible return on investment.
Between leaving Rangers and his retirement in 2022, the former Mexico international scored just 18 goals for a variety of clubs, proving how poor he really was.
Thankfully, the Gers are in a different era now and can look to the future with hope that the manager will make genuinely exciting signings who will not only contribute effectively but who can also be sold for a major profit.
