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Rangers are in the Europa League quarter-final action this week - but how much is their squad worth compared to other top Euro clubs

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Rangers are one of eight clubs left in the Europa League but they will need to fight uphill against clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to go all the way again.

The Light Blues lost 2-0 at home to Fenerbahce in the second leg of their round of 16 tie, but still progressed to the quarter-finals of the competition after Jack Butland produced two standout saves in the penalty shootout following a 3-1 first leg victory in Istanbul.

Barry Ferguson’s side are now preparing for a two-legged meeting with fourth-placed La Liga outfit Athletic Bilbao in UEFA's second tier tournament.

Manchester United, Lyon, Tottenham and Lazio are just some of the big clubs that could await the Light Blues if they all make it through to the final in May, but on current form that seems a tall order.

What is clear is that Rangers will be underdogs in most ties, with only one other side left having a smaller squad valuation. But as their memorable run to the Europa League final in 2022 proves, games are not always decided by finances at this level.

Here, Transfermarkt ranks each remaining club's market value based on each players individual value. We take a look at where Rangers rank on this in comparison to the likes of Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs and Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils.

Europa League squad values

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Ange Postecoglou is under pressure to turn results around at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

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Former Celtic striker and Republic of Ireland icon Tony Cascarino believes Ange Postecoglou is facing the sack at Tottenham Hotspur and believes only one factor can save the 59-year-old from losing his job.

Postecoglou, who was a huge hit as Celtic boss after winning five out of a possible six domestic trophies during his two seasons at the club, is under immense pressure to turn Spurs fortunes around after a difficult second season in North London.

The former Australian national team boss joined Spurs from Celtic on the back of winning a domestic treble with the Hoops and endeared himself to the Tottenham Hotspur faithful in dream fashion by picking up 23 points from his first nine games while breaking the record for most points earned by a Premier League manager in their first nine games.

Postecoglou was named Manager of the Month for his first three months in charge of Tottenham and in doing so became the first manager in history to win the award three times in a row.

His early season form led to optimistic talk of a title charge but despite a dip in fortunes towards the end of his first season, Spurs secured a fifth place finish and a return to Europe while ultimately playing an attractive brand of football which had been missing since the days of Mauricio Pochettino.

Tony Cascarino forecasts doomsday for Ange Postecoglou

Spurs experienced a strong showing in Ange Postecoglou’s first season in the capital but are currently enduring one of their worst campaigns in recent memory. The Lillywhites are 4th in the Premier League, were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round, and having reached the EFL Cup semi-finals, were smashed 4-1 by Liverpool on aggregate.

They have almost no hope of qualifying for Europe through league position and are instead entirely reliant on their form in the Europa League which Cascarino believes is the only factor that can keep the 59-year-old in the job beyond this season.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Cascarino was asked if the only way for Postecoglou to save himself at Tottenham is to go all the way in the Europa League, ahead of facing 2022 winners Frankfurt. He replied: “It feels that way, and whether you agree it’s right or wrong, it feels that that’s going to be the ultimate outcome.

“We’ve heard rumours in midweek of a list being [compiled]; Ange will have had two seasons, and that’s a long time – this year’s been hugely disappointing, really has been.”

Ange Postecoglou is running out of time to save his Spurs job

At the start of the season, Ange Postecoglou boldly told Spurs supporters that he always wins trophies in his second season as he looked to end the club’s 17-year wait for silverware.

However, an early exit in the FA Cup and a humiliating semi-final second leg defeat to Liverpool, have left Postecoglou scrambling for a redeeming factor in what has been a miserable season despite a net spend of £145.90m across the last two transfer windows.

Postecoglou’s team have had a huge injury crisis, particularly in defence, which has marred their campaign, but others have argued that the 59-year-old should have adopted a more pragmatic approach to protect the young defenders such as Archie Gray that were deputising during Micky van de Ven and Christian Romero’s absence.

Spurs have a much cleaner bill of health heading into the final furlong of the season and will need to end the campaign with form more reminiscent of Postecoglou’s early months in the dugout if they are to win the Europa League.

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The 80-year-old former Tottenham boss played an influential role in signing some big stars including Alli and Jan Vertonghen

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Celtic have made their first signing of the January transfer window - and it’s not one that many supporters would have expected.

The Hoops have added former Tottenham manager David Pleat to their English scouting network at the age of EIGHTY in a bid to unearth fresh new players.

Credited with the signings of Dele Alli, Jan Vertonghen and Ben Davies in recent years, veteran Pleat will be tasked with luring top talent to the Scottish champions from south of the border. According to the Daily Mail, the Parkhead club have made the appointment just a day after Pleat celebrated turning 80.

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An iconic figure at the North London club, Pleat performed a number of different roles with Spurs before departing at the end of last season. Having managed Nuneaton and Luton Town, he became Tottenham boss in 1986 before exiting the following year.

He went on to manage Leicester City, Luton again and Sheffield Wednesday before returning to White Hart Lane where he became the club’s first director of football in 1998. A spell as interim manager followed in 2003 following Glenn Hoddle's sacking, during which he saw out the 2003/04 campaign in charge and overseen the arrival of ex-Rangers striker Jermain Defoe.

Pleat then undertook advisory roles at various clubs in England before going back to Tottenham for a third time in 2010 after accepting a scouting role - a position he held until last year.

Highly regarded for his ability to spot up-and-coming youngsters, Pleat is known for his role in transforming youth players into key first-team stars. In recent years, he helped Spurs recruit the likes of Alli and Belgian international Vertonghen. He has also worked for the BBC and ITV at several World Cup and European Championships as a commentator.

It’s reported that Pleat was offered the scouting role by Celtic head of recruit Paul Tisdale, with the deal running for 12 months. He will now attend games and keep a watchful eye on certain players across the English leagues.

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Hamza Igamane continues to win plaudits after his excellent run of form for Rangers

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In-form Tottenham Hotspur star Dejan Kulusevski was the saviour for Ange Postecoglou’s side as they moved a step closer to the Europa League knockout stages with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Rangers at Ibrox.

The Swedish international, who has registered four goals and seven assists across all competitions this season, was brought on at half-time to replace a subdued Timo Werner before scoring a vital equalising strike in the last 15 minutes of the game.

The North London side were a shadow of their best and were nullified by an energetic and aggressive Rangers team that won a number of individual battles across the pitch as they took advantage of the vociferous and lively atmosphere generated by the home support.

Kulusevski, who was his team’s bright light in the contest, was full of praise for Rangers and the incredible Ibrox atmosphere. The 45-time international told PLZ Soccer after the game: “It’s an amazing stadium with great fans…they love watching football. It was a good game.”

Commenting on the Rangers performance, he added: “They played good. I don’t know their situation, I can only focus on my own team.”

Kulusevski went on to join the plaudits of young Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane, who is becoming an increasingly important part of Philippe Clement’s resurgent team after a laboured start to the campaign.

The 24-year-old said: “They played really well and they have a good team, also a strong striker who is very good.”

Igamane joined Rangers from Moroccan side AS Far over the summer as something of an unknown quantity and initially struggled for game time after failing to make the bench in any of his side’s opening three league games.

The 22-year-old made his debut as a late substitute during a 3-0 loss to Celtic but was slowly introduced to the starting line-up after registering his first Rangers goal in a 4-0 Europa League win against FCSB.

Igamane fired in two goals and an assist in his next European game away to Nice and is now on a run of scoring in all of his last three games after finding the net against Kilmarnock, Ross County and Tottenham Hotspur. His form makes him one of the top five leading goalscorers in the Europa League alongside the likes of Samu Aghehowa, Rasmus Hoijulnd, Omar Marmoush and Pedro.

Former Scotland international Don Hutchison said: “He is aggressive in his running. When you look at someone like that you can get on board with him as a manager because you know he is going to work hard. You know, he is a little bit old school.”

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A Rangers legend has explained why he’ll support the Light Blues over Tottenham Hotspur.

Former Rangers star Paul Gascoigne has recently conducted an interview that Gers fans will love - the ex-England midfielder he said he will be supporting the Teddy Bears, rather than Tottenham Hotspur, in their upcoming Europa League clash on December 12.

Gascoigne attributes this choice to the differences in treatment at his ex-clubs. At Rangers, Gascoigne says he is ‘welcomed in every way’ and his contributions to the club are given the respect they deserve. Meanwhile, at Spurs, he claimed he was charged £400 for a ‘couple of tickets’ and was not given the same level of acknowledgment.

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As well as this, in true Gazza fashion, he had a funny story to tell - this time, he talked about a conversation he had with Light Blues legend Ally McCoist, regarding the latter’s ability to score goals from distance.

What did Paul Gascoigne say in the interview?

Speaking with Sports Casting, Gascoigne said: “At Rangers I’m welcomed in every way. Whereas at Tottenham, I asked for a couple of tickets and they said ‘that’ll be £400 each.’ I was like, wow, with all I did for that club? I made the right choice in going to Rangers, the fans were fantastic and they love me up there. When they play Spurs, I'll be a Rangers fan.”

Gazza also had an amusing anecdote to tell regarding Ally McCoist, in which he said: “Ally scored so many [long range] goals, he just seemed he had a knack for it. He was unbelievable at putting it in the top corner. I said how do you do that?

“He said: honestly Gazza, I'm crap because if I aim for the top corner, it’s going into the stands. What I do is I aim for the goalkeeper, because when I aim for the keeper, it goes in the top corner!”

Celtic have a decision to make regarding his long-term when he returns

Celtic midfielder Kwon Hyeok-Kyu, who is currently on loan at Hibernian, has received his first call-up for the South Korea national team ahead of the next international break, as per their official X account. The 23-year-old has previously represented his country at Under-17, Under-20 and Under-23 levels.

He will now look to get his first senior cap in their upcoming World Cup qualifying games. They take on Jordan on 10th October and Iraq on 15th October.

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Kwon will link up with Tottenham Hotspur ace Son Heung-min and Wolves attacker Hwang Hee-chan as he looks to break into the team. Bayern Munich’s centre-back Kim Min-jae is another one of their stars.

Celtic gave him the green light to link up with Hibs on a temporary basis in the last transfer window to get some more game time under his belt. He has since made four league appearances for the Edinburgh outfit.

He rocked up at Celtic Park in July 2023 and penned a five-year deal with the Scottish Premiership champions running until 2028. However, he is yet to play competitively for Brendan Rodgers’ side and was also loaned out to St Mirren during the second-half of the last campaign.

Kwon started his career at Busan IPark and broke into their first-team as a youngster, scoring three goals in 43 outings. He also featured for Gimcheon Sangmu, who are the sports division of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

Celtic could see him as one for the future and will be keeping tabs on how he does at both Easter Road and with South Korea. After loaning him in mid-August, Hibs boss David Gray said: “Hyeokkyu provides us with another option in midfield being able to play as both a deeper 6 and as an 8. As a player, he’s a great athlete, he’s very competitive, and comfortable on the ball. He showed these capabilities during an impressive loan spell last season. We’re delighted to bring him to the Club and look forward to working with him.”

Meanwhile, their Sporting Director Malky Mackay added: “We’re really pleased to make Hyeokkyu our ninth signing of the summer transfer window. He is another top professional to add to the First Team group, comes with a good pedigree, and adds a real presence on the pitch. We’d like to thank Brendan Rodgers and Celtic for the smooth handling of the move, and how quickly and efficiently we were able to get this deal done.”

Kwon isn’t the only player out on loan from Celtic right now. They have Gustaf Lagerbielke away at FC Twente, Marco Tilio at Melbourne City, Alexandro Bernabei at Internacional and Johnny Kenny at Shamrock Rovers, as well as Tobi Oluwayemi at Dunfermline Athletic, Dane Murray at Queen’s Park and Ben Summers at Admira Wacker.

The Hoops won 6-0 away at St Johnstone last time out and have won all six of their Scottish Premiership fixtures so far. They are joint-top of the table with Aberdeen and are five points above rivals Rangers as they prepare for their upcoming Champions League away trip to Borussia Dortmund.

The Spurs icon admits his phone has already been inundated with messages for Ibrox ticket requests

Tottenham icon Gary Mabbutt insists the mouth-watering prospect of a Battle of Britain clash with Rangers in the Europa League will be an occasion to savour.

The former England international defender, who is best remembered for his 16-year spell with Spurs between 1982 and 1998 during which he served as club captain for eleven of those years, is already relishing the group phase showdown with the Light Blues at Ibrox.

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He revealed a plan is being hatched to bring Richard Gough - who served both sides with distinction during his playing career after moving to Glasgow from the North London club in 1987 - back across the Atlantic to watch the game from the Tottenham away section.

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Reacting to the draw from a Tottenham perspective, Mabbutt told TNT Sports: “When that (Rangers) one came out the pot, obviously my first thought was it will be a very tough game. Some great games in there for us, we’ve got Roma as well. There’s some great trips to places like Turkey and Sweden, so tough games but I think Rangers is really the one that stands out.

“I was actually chatting to the head of the SFA before the draw and I said it would be great to get Rangers. We were both saying what a great occasion that would be, so we’re already trying to get Richard Gough back from America to come and join up with us for that game!”

Asked how big a pull having a televised Battle of Britain encounter will be for both clubs, Mabbutt replied: “Absolutely. We’ve played Rangers many times over the years in friendlies and competitions and they’re always very, very tough games. It creates a great atmosphere, I think. Us going up to Scotland for this game... always big, big games. We’re already talking about it straight after the draw. We met up with the Rangers staff straight away and all of us are looking forward to the game.

“That was the big one for us, but overall I think the new format will be very exciting. I’m looking forward to it. Eight different teams, eight different games and for me, personally, all I hope is that we’re in Bilbao in May next year.”

Mabbutt believes Spurs could be a real “force to be reckoned with” across all competitions this season as he assessed how Postecoglou’s squad is shaping up. He admitted: “I think after last year, the players we brought in, Archie Gray from Leeds, Wilson Odobert from Burnley and Lucas Bergvall... the players we’re bringing in are excellent young players.

“We’ve got some great young players coming through the ranks as well. Mikey Moore is only 17 but he’ll be a superstar of the future and our squad is coming together now. I really feel that we’re progressing maybe quicker than we thought and this season we could be a force to be reckoned with.”

The former West Ham and Sunderland star has Tottenham and Rangers experience on his coaching CV.

Jermain Defoe says he’s ready for first team management after starting his badges at Rangers, and leaving Tottenham.

The ex-striker who counts both clubs, West Ham, Sunderland and more amongst his previous clubs is embarking upon a coaching journey. Starting his B-licence at Rangers proved a learning curve before finishing his badges with Spurs, who he worked with as a youth coach.

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Now after leaving the Premier League side, Defoe has explained his next ambitions to Sky Sports. The former West Ham and Sunderland star insists he wants a chance to be a leading man as he paid thanks to Spurs and Rangers for a starting platform. He said: “I was at Rangers and I finished there and I knew that opportunity at Tottenham was waiting for me, so I was grateful for that.

“I was just using that to complete my badges because at Rangers I started my B-licence and I wanted to complete that at Tottenham. I was just grateful I got that opportunity. I just feel at this moment in time now I feel like I’m ready for a first-team environment.

“I did two years there at the academy and it was really good, some great young players. I worked with some great coaches, Bradley Allen, Paul Bracewell, Nigel Gibbs, Wayne Burnett. For me it was good to get that exposure but I feel like right now I’m ready for a first-team environment.

“I think when you have gone to an experienced place like Tottenham and worked with some experienced coaches like I’ve just mentioned, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do anyway. At the back end of my career I always wanted to go into management and do my badges and see where it takes me.

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“I think you just have to weigh it all up really. I’ve always wanted to be a number one, that’s sort of the main objective. I suppose in football you never know what is around the corner. If there was an opportunity there to be an assistant somewhere just to sort of learn and help my development as a coach then so be it. I think the main goal for me is to become a number one and become a manager somewhere.

“You never know with football. It depends on the opportunity. When you talk about levels I mean everyone’s journey is different. I’ve obviously played with Steven Gerrard and he managed me at Rangers. When I spoke to Stevie about his journey, he was under-18s coach at Liverpool and then got the opportunity to go to Rangers. It has to be the right environment of course and the right club for me.”