Driouech's Rangers Move Fails as PSV Faces Fourth Transfer Setback

Couhaib Driouech’s move to Rangers has fallen apart at the final hurdle, sending the winger back to PSV and leaving both clubs with more questions than answers.

The 24-year-old had already travelled to Scotland, the deal seemingly on the brink of completion. Medical, talks, the usual last steps – all lined up. Yet after several days of negotiations in Glasgow, no agreement was reached, Eindhovens Dagblad reporter Rik Elfrink reported on Friday.

So Driouech returns to Eindhoven. Rangers walk away. And PSV are left staring at a missed opportunity worth up to €8 million.

What exactly caused the deal to collapse remains unclear. No details yet on where the talks broke down, only the outcome: Driouech will not be wearing a Rangers shirt this season.

For PSV, it’s a pattern that is becoming uncomfortably familiar. This is already the fourth transfer to fall through for the club in the space of five months. Ricardo Pepi, Adamo Nagalo and Armando Obispo all saw potential moves collapse before Driouech joined that list.

The sporting consequences are just as awkward as the financial ones. Despite his return, Driouech is not expected to step straight back into a key role at PSV. Injury has already kept him out of the opening matches of the season, and while he has been sidelined, the hierarchy in his position appears to have shifted.

Amir Bouhamdi, a product of the PSV academy, has moved ahead of him in the pecking order. The youngster is set to sign a new contract at the Philips Stadion, underlining the club’s belief in his development and hinting at where future minutes on the wing might go.

So Driouech comes back to a squad where his status is uncertain, his big move gone, his path to the starting XI less clear than before.

PSV, still digesting another collapsed deal, must now turn quickly back to the pitch. Next up is a trip to Excelsior on Saturday evening, with kick-off at 20:00. They travel on the back of a frustrating 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard last weekend.

The transfer window may have closed on one route for Driouech, but the season is only just beginning to ask its hardest questions of PSV.