It's fair to say that Rangers have had a disappointing second half of the season, despite the Europa League triumphs, the side's Scottish Premiership form has been poor.

Coming into January with a six-point lead was the ideal scenario for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his men, then the winter break happened, and Rangers lost arguably their best player of the season, Joe Aribo, to the Africa Cup of Nations and the wheels fell off slightly.

The onus was on van Bronckhorst to strengthen, especially in the midfield areas following Aribo’s brief departure and the sale of Juninho Bacuna, however, the club missed out on an excellent opportunity.

During the summer and January windows, the Gers were constantly linked with Dutch midfielder Joey Veerman, who was playing at Heerenveen. A deal couldn’t be struck and as van Bronckhorst moved into his first transfer window with the team during January, there were hopes of a chance to secure him.

Yet again, Rangers were slack, and PSV Eindhoven eventually signed the midfielder for £5m as he joined his boyhood club.

Former Rangers striker Michael Mols lavished “perfect” praise on his fellow Dutchman and it’s not hard to see why.

Since his arrival at PSV, Veerman has scored six and notched six assists in only 21 matches, a fabulous return.

If we compare this to Aribo in the same period, two goals and five assists, it proves that the Ibrox side should have splashed the cash in January and the club may have been heading into the last four matches in the league with their six-point advantage still intact.

As the summer transfer window looms on the horizon, Ross Wilson can’t afford to let similar players of that class escape their grasp again. After all, with Aribo touted with an exit, 23-year-old Veerman would very much have been the perfect heir.

AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst can brutally axe “shaky” Rangers dud in deal for “annoyingly brilliant” £0 machine