It's game day for Glasgow Rangers, with another new era set to get underway under Derek McInnes' watch on Friday evening.

It feels like only yesterday that the 2025/26 Premiership season came to a close, yet here we are again, with plenty to look forward to from a Gers perspective.

Indeed, there's a new coach, a new captain and as many as eight new signings in the building at Ibrox, with the latest having arrived in the form of South African star, Olwethu Makhanya.

McInnes and co are leaving nothing to chance, it would seem, ripping up and overhauling a squad that wilted post-split just a few months ago.

Oliver Antman, for instance, is the latest notable casualty.

Why Rangers were right to cash in on Antman so swiftly

At a club like Rangers, and in a city where second is last like Glasgow, there isn't time for a slow start or a bedding period. New signings simply have to hit the ground running.

Joe Rothwell found that out last year, having been sent packing after just six months at the club, with fellow 2025 arrival Antman having since followed suit.

There was plenty to be excited about when the Finland international did walk in the door 12 months ago, the winger enjoying a remarkable 2024/25 campaign in which he scored six goals and chalked up 15 assists in the Eredivisie.

He looked like he could well be the long-term solution on the right flank, with Rangers having seen Vaclav Cerny depart following the end of his stellar loan stint.

Unfortunately for Antman, however, he simply never got going in what was an injury-hit year at Ibrox, ultimately reduced to just eight Premiership starts across the entire season.

That reduced game time unsurprisingly led to reduced output, with the former Go Ahead Eagles man scoring once and registering only three assists, while his tally of just three 'big chances' created was well below his record of 16 from the season before.

It says it all too that, at a time when the Gers aren't exactly blessed with depth on the flanks, having seen Mikey Moore and Andreas Skov Olsen return to their parent clubs, McInnes has been so willing to show Antman the door.

Perhaps, reading between the lines, that suggests a replacement has already been lined up...

Signing number eight for Rangers, as noted above, has been wrapped up as the Old Firm side secured the capture of Philadelphia Union star, Makhanya, fresh from his recent World Cup exploits.

The 22-year-old centre-back had been a breakout star in MLS last year, with this deal reflecting yet another potential coup for the Ibrox hierarchy.

They could make an even bigger splash with their potential ninth signing, however, with the Daily Record reporting that the club are exploring a deal to bring the aforementioned Cerny back to Glasgow this summer.

The 28-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Besiktas, while reports that the Turkish side could sign Mohamed Salah have only further plunged his future into doubt.

There had been previous claims that the Gers could break their policy regarding resale value by sealing a £5m+ deal for the Czech winger, a year on from having seen him leave the club to move to Istanbul.

The old cliché would suggest that players should 'never go back', yet considering how depleted Rangers are out wide, Cerny's signing could represent an ideal and much-needed upgrade.

Indeed, in contrast to Antman's woes of 2025/26, Cerny had been so electric a year earlier, following his arrival on loan from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg.

In 33 Premiership outings, he scored and assisted 16 goals, while notably averaging a standout 1.4 successful dribbles and 2.5 key passes per game. For context, Antman averaged just 0.8 and 1.4 for those same two metrics, respectively, last term.

Cerny was also the driving force behind Rangers' Europa League run that year, scoring and assisting eight times in just 12 appearances in the competition. Again, for comparison, Antman failed to provide a single goal involvement in five Europa League outings in 2025/26.

It hasn't quite been the same story out in Turkey, although the left-footer still registered 13 goals and assists in the Super Lig last season, a tally only bettered by Youssef Chermiti (20) back in Glasgow.

With Moore having returned to north London, Cerny could well be the game-changing forward that McInnes' side is crying out for, having already endeared himself to Gers supporters in the recent past.

It's difficult to think of too many players better placed to hit the ground running at Ibrox this season, with Cerny surely the ideal man to upgrade on the hapless Antman.