Rangers Target Bouanani to Boost Attack
Rangers are moving to plug the most obvious gap in Derek McInnes’ squad – and they are doing it with a statement gamble on Badredine Bouanani.
According to the Rangers Review, the 21-year-old VfB Stuttgart winger is in Glasgow undergoing a medical ahead of a season-long loan, with an €18m buy option attached. With only hours left in the window, the deal is at the paperwork-and-pen stage. Only a late hitch stops this one becoming official.
For a club that has spent the last fortnight searching for imagination on the right flank, the profile is no accident.
From Lille streets to Stuttgart – and now Ibrox?
Born in Lille, Bouanani came through the academy at LOSC Lille, graduating into their reserve side in 2021-22. He was tipped early as one of the sharpest wide players of his age group in France, and the bigger Ligue 1 clubs circled quickly.
Lille lost him on a Bosman to Nice. That move underlined his reputation: a teenager walking away from his boyhood club to chase first-team football in the top flight. He dipped briefly into Nice’s youth ranks, then forced his way to sporadic senior appearances in Ligue 1 before a loan to Lorient.
It was in the 2024-25 campaign that his name really started to stick. More minutes, more responsibility, and a growing sense that he could hurt teams from that right-hand side. Stuttgart moved decisively last summer, paying around €15m to take him to the Bundesliga.
On the international stage, he followed a similar path of rising expectation. Having represented France at various youth levels, he switched allegiance to Algeria in 2023 and has already collected five caps. For a 21-year-old, that is not background noise. It is a marker of trust.
Promise without a platform in Germany
Stuttgart bought potential and, in flashes, Bouanani showed exactly why. He made 28 appearances across competitions last season, but most of them came from the bench. He finished with just two goals and two assists.
For a young winger trying to build rhythm, that kind of role can suffocate momentum. He needs a run of games, not cameos. Stuttgart need him to grow, not stall. Rangers need exactly what he brings when he is allowed to play on instinct.
That is where the deal becomes a clear win for all sides. Stuttgart protect their investment with an environment that should guarantee minutes. Rangers get a high-ceiling attacker at a fraction of his potential price, with a defined option if he explodes. Bouanani gets a stage and a demanding crowd that will tell him instantly if he is hiding.
Rangers’ attacking puzzle
McInnes’ first weeks in charge have been brutal in Europe. Rangers crashed out of both the Europa League and Conference League qualifiers, leaving only domestic competitions on the table. Celtic, relentless as ever, have already opened up a five-point lead in the Premiership, winning every league game so far.
The response has been steady rather than spectacular. Back-to-back wins over Aberdeen and Falkirk have calmed the noise, but not silenced it. The performances have lacked edge and invention in the final third. Rangers look organised, functional, but short of that flash that breaks a packed defence.
Lawrence Shankland has rediscovered his touch in front of goal, yet the right-hand side remains unsettled. Findlay Curtis has flickered without fully convincing. Daisuke Yokota, brought in to add guile, has not nailed down that flank either.
That vacancy is where Bouanani walks in.
What Bouanani brings
Bouanani is not a safe, conservative signing. He is a winger built on risk.
He is known for explosive acceleration, tight close control and the kind of quick feet that make defenders hesitate. He likes to isolate his full-back, drive at him, then twist inside or dart outside. He thrives in tight spaces, in one-on-one situations where others might turn back and recycle.
From the right, his natural left foot lets him cut inside and shoot or slip passes between centre-backs. When he stays wide, he has the balance to hit early, whipped crosses. That variety matters at Ibrox, where Rangers regularly face deep, compact back lines. Predictable wide play gets swallowed. Unpredictable movement and sharp changes of direction do not.
His composure in the final third is still developing, but the tools are obvious. If McInnes can give him the freedom to attack and the structure behind him to cover the risk, Rangers suddenly look far less one-paced in wide areas.
Flexibility behind the No. 9
The arrival of Kim Min-Su has already triggered one change. Thelo Aasgaard has been allowed to leave on loan for Anderlecht, clearing space in the attacking midfield pool. Kim has been used primarily as a No. 10 but can drift off the left, giving McInnes different shapes within his preferred 4-2-3-1.
Bouanani adds another layer. While most see him as a right-sided winger, he is comfortable operating centrally as an attacking midfielder, dropping between the lines and turning on the half-turn. That versatility lets Rangers rotate their three behind the striker without losing balance.
Behind the lone No. 9, McInnes could field a fluid trio – Kim, Bouanani and one of Yokota or Curtis – constantly interchanging, dragging defenders out of position. On days when Rangers have laboured in front of a packed Ibrox, that sort of movement has been missing.
A high-stakes option
The €18m buy option attached to the loan underlines how highly Stuttgart still rate Bouanani. Rangers are not committed to that fee, but its presence signals the scale of the player they are trying to unlock.
If he clicks in Glasgow – if the raw pace, the one-v-one aggression and the left-footed threat translate into consistent output – the conversation around that option becomes very real, very quickly.
For now, the equation is simpler. Rangers need spark. Bouanani needs minutes. Stuttgart need development.
The clock is ticking on the window. If the medical goes to plan and the signatures land on time, Ibrox will soon find out whether this is the winger who can drag their season back into Celtic’s shadow – or right into their line of sight.
