Having spend £8m on three new players with a further £5m earmarked for Turkish defender Ridman Yilvaz the pressure is on at Ibrox to reduce the wage bill.
Shirting Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey won’t have made much of a dent o the wage bill with both stars signed in 2019 on the lower end of the pay scale.
Roofe was signed a year later from Anderlecht, a year after moving to the Belgian side from Leeds and is believed to be on a basic wage of over £40,000 per week.
With the magic money tree of ‘mystery investors’ no longer pumping money in a few times a season there is a more realistic approach to business this season.
Add in the pay-off to Sports Direct with Mike Ashley’s firm picking up a huge chunk of retail sales and the need to cut the wage bill becomes significant if new players are to be recruited.
The Daily Record reports:
Kemar Roofe is also attracting attention in England with Derby County and now Sheffield Wednesday looking closely at the hitman. Van Bronckhorst has snapped up striker Antonio Colak – who grabbed his first goal for the club in Saturday’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Spurs – while Alfredo Morelos is on the comeback trail following knee surgery.
Recent arrivals Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Malik Tillman can all play in advances areas, along with Fashion Sakala. Roofe has a track record for goals but has been hampered by injuries in his two years at Ibrox.
The former Anderlecht striker hasn’t played any pre-season friendlies and isn’t expected to play again before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
After starting 27 SPFL matches over the course of two seasons it is unlikely that any club will be rushing to match Roofe’s wages leaving Giovanni van Bronckhorst with a very well paid squad member making occasional appearances.
