Inside Rangers’ global transfer network as Ibrox scout reveals his crucial role in two major signings

EVER wondered what goes into scouting a player for Rangers?

Well, the man involved in two of the most high-profile signings the Ibrox side has made in recent years has revealed the ins and outs of the club’s transfer policy.

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Piotr Kasprzak has been working for Rangers since October 2020, covering Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he was also responsible for talent-spotting in those two countries, as well as the MLS.

Kasprzak is based in Poland but has regular contact with the rest of the scouting team back at Auchenhowie.

He told Goal: “This is the structure of our club. There are actually two schools, one is based on people close to the club, who are sent from the headquarters to matches, and who work in the club on a daily basis. 

“The second one, the one in which I function, is based on scouts scattered around the world. I am responsible for Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Balkans.

“Before the war, I also dealt with Russia and Ukraine, plus MLS, and that’s why I live in Poland. This option has many advantages and I know the atmosphere of this football, it is closer to me culturally, I know the leagues, I read the media, I look at the newspapers, I am also closer to the matches.

“We have a set structure for meetings, but they are not weekly periods. 

“Scouting is all about flexibility and adaptation, which is why we rely more on everyday communication. 

“The sports department meets, we hold discussions with the head of scouts or the sports director. It is known that the closer to the transfer window, the frequency of conversations increase.”

So, how does Kasprzak pick a player out?

What qualities does the player need to have and what process does the scout himself need to follow?

“The ideal scouting process is complex, it is an initial selection, many reports, environmental scouting, creating scouting lists, negotiations, finally finalising the transfer,” he said.

“But it is very true that this ideal scouting process simply does not exist.

“Let’s assume that I’m going to see a boy who suits us, we’re looking for a player for this position, with the right features, we do preliminary research on what kind of person he is and we know that his contract is expiring or his club is on probation. Then we intensify our efforts.

“Or on the other hand, we like the player, but he is still injured, then we give ourselves a certain margin of time.”

Finding talented players is one thing.

Finding talented players who can succeed in the pressure-cooker environment of the Old Firm is a whole other matter.

Not to mention to unique nature of Scottish football, with the increased emphasis on physicality and the fact Rangers will dominate almost every domestic match they play in.

So for Kasprzak, finding good players just isn’t enough.

He said: “I’m not going ‘to the match’. I’m going for something specific. 

“If we really like a striker, we now want to know ‘okay, how does he behave in matches with a lot of pressure?’

“‘What does he look like in matches against the top teams of the league?’

“We want to know the context. 

“We are a special team because in 95% of matches we dominate our rivals in the league. In addition, the entire exterior of the club is very bright.”

Kasprzak even joked that the main aspect of his job is focused more on who he DOESN’T recommend to his superiors, rather than those he does pass on.

He said: “I sometimes joke bitterly that 95% of my job is keeping players away from my club who are not suitable for it.”

The biggest name on Kasprzak’s CV so far is Abdallah Sima.

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Rangers signed the forward on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer and he has hit nine goals so far for the Light Blues.

He comes with a £7m transfer tag but Kasprzak regards it as somewhat of a stroke of luck that Sima ended up in Glasgow.

“We remembered him from the times of Slavia Prague,” he said.

“He played in a satellite club, joined Slavia and made a great impact. He even scored a goal for us in the European cups. 

“We rated him highly but we simply couldn’t spend that much money on him at the time. He went to Brighton then went on loan to France, came back and now has been loaned to Rangers. 

“Probably if it weren’t for the fact that we had him in our database from the times of Slavia and he was stuck in our memory, we wouldn’t have gone for him in the summer, because his name wouldn’t mean much to us. 

“Now he is one of our best players. This past work has come to fruition, albeit with a delayed start.”

Kasprzak’s other main recommendation didn’t quite have the same success.

Mateusz Zukowski signed for Gers in January 2022 but couldn’t force his way into the first team.

He had skipper James Tavernier playing in his position but the Polish youngster also failed to make a good enough impression in outings for the B team and was loaned out to Lech Poznan in his homeland.

He then left permanently for Slask Wroclaw in the summer and has since established himself as a favourite under boss Jacek Magiera.

But Kasprzak has defended the transfer and the decision to recommend the Lechia Gdansk youth product to his Ibrox colleagues.

He said: “Let me make it clear right away – yes, today we can say that it was not a successful transfer. 

“However, I remember his first months at the club. The feedback was very positive from the staff and the players. 

“Physical tests? TOP3, maybe TOP5 in each category. Someone may say ‘eh, it’s just the Scottish league’, but we reached the final of the Europa League that season.

“Then James Tavernier played in Mateusz’s position.

“He became the top scorer in the Europa League and played as right back.

“But back to Żukowski – when I look at this transfer today, the conclusion is that the enthusiasm resulting from the transfer too quickly turned into discouragement caused by the lack of playing time. 

“Tavernier played almost every week, Mateusz had someone to learn from. 

“We were chasing Celtic in the league, there weren’t many options for rotation, Tavernier was the captain. 

“It was a good period to prepare for the game, but I think the decision was made too quickly, ‘I’m going on loan because I won’t play here’.”

Zukowski’s upturn in form this season has left Kasprzak feeling vindicated, particularly with his own future at Ibrox up in the air beyond the end of November when his contract expires.

He continued: “I smiled recently when Jacek Magiera said that Żukowski has everything to be a Polish representative.

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“I smiled because these were my words before the transfer to Scotland. 

“Mateusz must understand that everything is in his hands, not coaches, not agents, not teammates. 

“I’m glad he found Magiera because he’s a coach who can reach players mentally. 

“Mateusz knows that I am always in his corner, we talked for hours about football and life. 

“It’s a matter of him actually redeeming himself because I believe in him.”

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