Rangers Close to Signing Badredine Bouanani on Loan

Rangers are racing the clock to land Badredine Bouanani – and they look close to the line.

According to the Rangers Review, the 21-year-old VfB Stuttgart winger is in the middle of a medical ahead of a season-long loan to Ibrox, with an €18m buy option attached. With only hours left in the window, the deal is poised for confirmation unless something late and dramatic gets in the way.

From Lille streets to Stuttgart – and now Glasgow?

Born in Lille, Bouanani came through the ranks at LOSC Lille, progressing from the academy into the reserves and featuring in the 2021-22 campaign. He represented France at various youth levels before switching allegiance to Algeria in 2023, where he has already collected five senior caps.

He walked away from his boyhood club on a Bosman, crossing Ligue 1 lines to join Nice. After a short spell with their youth side, he began to edge into the first team, picking up minutes in the top flight and then heading to Lorient on loan.

The breakthrough really came in 2024-25. More regular game time in France sharpened his reputation and convinced Stuttgart to pay around €15m for him last summer. It was a statement move for a young winger with obvious upside.

Reality bit a little harder in Germany. Bouanani made 28 appearances across all competitions but spent most of them coming off the bench. Two goals and two assists told the story of a player on the fringes rather than at the heart of things, a talent that needed more than late cameos to grow.

That’s where Rangers step in.

Why this deal suits everyone

Rangers want a left-footed right winger. They have made that clear all summer. Daisuke Yokota is through the door, and the club have been linked with Brighton & Hove Albion youngster Amario Cozier-Duberry, but the right flank still feels unsettled.

A loan for Bouanani, with a hefty option to buy, ticks every box. Stuttgart protect their investment. Bouanani gets the regular minutes he craves. Rangers get a high-ceiling attacker without committing permanently until they’ve seen him in the heat of a title race.

It comes at a time when Derek McInnes badly needs extra spark. European football is already gone, with Rangers crashing out of both the Europa League and Conference League qualifiers. The domestic front is all that remains, and Celtic have bolted out of the blocks, five points clear after winning every league game so far.

Rangers have responded with back-to-back wins over Aberdeen and Falkirk, but the performances haven’t fully convinced. The rhythm is returning, the results are there, yet the creativity in the final third still looks fragile.

Lawrence Shankland has rediscovered his scoring touch. That helps. But on the right-hand side, neither Findlay Curtis nor Yokota has nailed down the starting berth. Too many games have drifted without enough threat from wide areas.

Bouanani changes that picture.

What Bouanani brings to McInnes’ 4-2-3-1

Bouanani’s game is built on acceleration and nerve. He is quick off the mark, sharp in tight spaces and happy to take defenders on one-versus-one. He drives inside onto his left foot, whips in crosses from the overlap and shows composure in the box that belies his age.

Rangers have lacked that blend of directness and finesse on the right. With a lone No 9 in McInnes’ 4-2-3-1, the wide players and the No 10 carry a heavy creative burden. Too often, that burden has fallen on too few shoulders.

The squad has already shifted to make room for change. Thelo Aasgaard has been allowed to leave on loan for Anderlecht after the arrival of Kim Min-Su, who has been used primarily as a No 10 but can also slide out to the left.

Bouanani offers another layer of flexibility. While most comfortable attacking from the right, the Algerian can operate centrally as well, slotting in behind the striker when needed. That gives McInnes the option to rotate his attacking trio without losing balance or invention.

The move, if finalised, hands Rangers what they’ve been missing: a left-footed livewire on the right, a player with the tools to unsettle low blocks and stretch packed defences. The price to buy is significant at €18m, but that’s a decision for another day.

For now, the question is simpler: with Celtic already clear and Europe gone, can Bouanani’s arrival ignite a Rangers attack that still feels one spark short of catching fire?