Glasgow Rangers made three signings during the winter transfer window in a bid to bolster their first-team squad ahead of the second half of the season.
Mohamed Diomande, Fabio Silva, and Oscar Cortes have all made a significant impact thus far at the Light Blues.
Cortes managed just seven games before suffering an injury against Kilmarnock which rules him out for the foreseeable future, while Silva and Diomande have scored six goals between them since joining the Gers.
Philippe Clement looks like he is attempting to build a proper player trading model at Ibrox, one which will see young talent snapped up cheaply before being developed and sold on for a massive profit.
This tactic has benefited Celtic over the years, but recently, the Light Blues have failed to tap into this sort of market.
Of course, Nathan Patterson and Calvin Bassey both left in 2022, raking in serious transfer fees for Rangers, yet these are the only two examples.
The duo rank in the top two of the club’s biggest-ever sales, yet judging by inflation, it is a signing made in 1993 who would the way if sold in the modern-day; Duncan Ferguson.
How much Rangers paid to sign Duncan Ferguson
The late great Walter Smith led the Gers to a domestic treble while also coming within one game of reaching the inaugural Champions League final during the 1992/93 season.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Smith continued to improve his first-team squad ahead of the following campaign. Enter Ferguson.
The Scotsman broke through the ranks at Dundee United and his talent did not go unnoticed as Smith sought to bolster his contingent of local players.
A transfer fee of £4m was agreed in what turned out to be a British record transfer, but Ferguson would fail to live up to the hype generated upon his arrival.
Duncan Ferguson’s Rangers statistics
The striker made just 16 appearances during his maiden season at Ibrox, finding the back of the net only once, with the £4m fee clearly playing on his mind.
Four goals during the opening few games of the 1994/95 season looked as though it could be a turning point for the centre-forward, yet he joined Everton on loan in October 1994 until the end of the season.
His spell at Rangers yielded just five goals in total and Smith soon moved him on to the Goodison Park outfit on a permanent basis after he impressed during his initial loan spell.
The Toffees shelled out a fee of £5.5m to keep him south of the border and this represented a profit by the Gers, something which seemed unlikely a few months prior.
What Duncan Ferguson is worth in 2024 money
While £5.5m back in 1995 was a massive fee, nearly 30 years later, it is almost off the scale and proves how much the Gers hit the jackpot by moving Ferguson on when they did.
In 2024 money – with Totally Money adjusted for inflation over the years – that transfer fee would be worth a staggering £78m now.
Totally Money have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe's top five leagues. Armed with plenty of historical financial data they have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation.
This fee outstrips all the recent big-money sales Rangers have made, and it also values Ferguson higher than some of the best players in the world at the moment.
Victor Osimhen is a highly in-demand centre-forward, yet Ferguson’s value in 2024 would be even higher than the current Napoli frontman.
Osimhen is wanted by a plethora of clubs in the Premier League, La Liga and Ligue 1, having his fair share of choice when it comes to his next move.
Since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, Osimhen has scored 44 times and his goals last season were vital in Napoli winning their first Serie A title since the days of Diego Maradona, thus making him a target for some of the biggest clubs in the world.
Season
Games
Goals
Assists
2023/24
24
13
4
2022/23
39
31
5
2021/22
32
18
6
2020/21
30
10
3
His market value has been on the rise in recent years and at the time of writing, his value stands at a mind blowing €75.1m (£64.4m) according to Football Transfers.
Of course, Napoli will be looking for a fee much higher than this should they seek to move him on this summer, but his actual market value is less than Ferguson's.
Duncan Ferguson’s career statistics
Following his permanent move to Everton in 1995, Ferguson remained in the Premier League until he retired from football in 2006, enjoying spells on Merseyside and Tyneside, playing for Newcastle United for a few years.
Ferguson received praise from fans and pundits during his spell in the English top flight and former professional boxer David Price even claimed the former Rangers striker was “always a threat” when Liverpool faced off against their arch-rivals.
He scored 39 goals during his first stint with the Toffees, before netting only 12 goals during an 18-month spell at Newcastle.
Ferguson returned to Everton in the summer of 2000 as Smith reunited with his former striker, and it proved to be a stroke of genius.
Another 30 goals followed between 2000 and 2006. While this wasn’t the most prolific strike rate in the world, the mere presence of Ferguson barging through opposition defenders and using his aerial strength to win plenty of duels allowed Everton to exceed expectations, especially under David Moyes.
Since retiring, the former Scotland international remained at Everton, working as an assistant, and even managing five games as a caretaker manager between 2019 and 2022 before finally going his own way and taking up the reigns at Forest Green Rovers.
The 52-year-old is currently manager of Scottish Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle, taking up his first role in Scotland since leaving Rangers nearly 30 years ago.
It may not have worked out as a player at the Ibrox side for Ferguson, yet Smith struck gold by selling him to Everton in 1995, especially considering that the £5.5m transfer fee is now worth more than Osimhen, one of the most feared strikers in Europe at this current moment in time.