As transfer tales go, few have been more bizarre than that of Marco Negri's time at Glasgow Rangers, with the Italian hero going from instant hero to anonymous wage burner in what was a truly head-scratching spell at Ibrox

Plucked from Serie A side Perugia in 1997 on a £3.5m deal, the Italian marksman hit the ground running in devastating fashion in Glasgow, netting 23 goals in just his first ten league games for the Old Firm giants, while reaching 30 by the end of December.

That blistering form was, however, halted in bizarre fashion as the Milan-born ace suffered an eye injury as a result of a squash match with compatriot Sergio Porrini, with that issue setting the wheels in motion for what would be an injury-ravaged remainder of his time in Scotland.

In the end, the 5 foot 11 hotshot would go on to make just 40 appearances in all competitions for the Gers before departing in 2001, largely becoming a forgotten figure after his brief early impact.

Such was the rapid decline of his time at the club, Negri was even included in The Guardian's ten worst foreign signings of all time back in 2000, with the now-retired flop said to have been raking in a tidy £18k-per-week wage despite largely being restricted to the sidelines.

The fear will be that current boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst could be set for a repeat disaster amid reports that the Scottish Premiership side have been offered the chance to sign another Italian centre-forward, Patrick Cutrone.

Once signed for £16m by Wolverhampton Wanderers, the 24-year-old appears a player who could well prove another expensive mistake - like Negri - were he to be signed by the Ibrox outfit this summer.

The £62.9k-per-week menace has endured a dismal spell at Molineux since his arrival three years ago, having scored just two goals in 14 top-flight appearances for the Old Gold thus far, after spending much of his time at the club out on loan.

Those temporary moves have failed to revive the floundering career of a player once likened to AC Milan legend Filippo Inzaghi, with the 6-foot dud's own agent having admitted that the striker had "gone into oblivion" during a disappointing loan spell at Fiorentina.

A goalless stint at Valencia was followed by only a slight improvement at Empoli last term - where he scored just three league goals in the Italian top-flight - with all the signs pointing to a player who is only on the decline.

Having previously netted ten Serie A goals in a single campaign while at the San Siro in the 2017/18 season, the one-cap forward may have a Negri-like prolific spell in his locker, although also like his compatriot Cutrone, has the ability to become an anonymous and costly presence for Rangers, as he has proven at Wolves.