Glasgow Rangers head coach Michael Beale was backed by the board throughout the summer transfer window as he was able to bring in nine new players.
Sam Lammers, Cyriel Dessers, Dujon Sterling, Jack Butland, Kieran Dowell, Danilo, Jose Cifuentes, and Leon Balogun all came through the door on permanent deals, whilst Abdallah Sima joined on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Tore Andre Flo
£15.5m
Michael Ball
£8.4m
Mikel Arteta
£6.8m
Arthur Numan
£6.6m
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
£6.5m
As shown in the table above, the Scottish giants have only splashed the cash, to a significant degree, on one player in their history – Tore Andre Flo.
The Norway international joined from Premier League side Chelsea ahead of the 2000/01 campaign but things could have been different for Rangers if they were able to get their other target, as they failed to secure a player who could have been an upgrade on the ex-Blues man.
Were Rangers interested in Ruud van Nistelrooy?
Former Gers boss Dick Advocaat was reportedly keen on a deal to sign Dutch marksman Ruud Van Nistelrooy from PSV in the summer of 2000.
The ex-Light Blues tactician was prepared to make a £15m offer to sign the prolific ace, which would have been a Scottish transfer record at the time of the move.
However, he was unable to convince the Netherlands international to make the move to Scotland and fumbled the possible opportunity to bring him to Ibrox that year.
Advocaat then moved on from van Nistelrooy and did break the transfer record with a swoop for Flo later that summer after he did not do enough to persuade the Dutch star.
Rangers were interested in signing the lethal ace after he had caught the eye with his terrific form for PSV in his home country over the previous two seasons.
Van Nistelrooy enjoyed a breakthrough season with the Dutch side during the 1998/99 campaign as he plundered a phenomenal 41 goals and ten assists in 46 matches across all competitions.
He followed that up with 32 goals and eight assists in 32 games for PSV during the 1999/00 season, which included a mind-boggling 29 goals and eight assists in 23 league outings.
In total, the outstanding finisher scored 77 goals and provided 20 assists in 90 matches for the club, which attracted interest from Rangers and convinced Advocaat to prepare a £15m offer for his services.
The Scottish giants were unable to get a move over the line for the prolific gem and he ended up signing for Manchester United in the Premier League later that summer.
How many goals did van Nistelrooy score for Manchester United?
Van Nistelrooy, who was once described as "devastating" by former teammate Rio Ferdinand, went on to score 150 goals in 219 matches for the Red Devils during his time in England.
He proved himself to be a reliable goalscorer for Sir Alex Ferguson as he contributed with 95 goals and 14 assists in 150 Premier League appearances for the club.
This means that he found the back of the net once every 1.46 matches in all competitions and once every 1.58 league games on average throughout his spell at Old Trafford.
The Dutch marksman, who won the Premier League Golden Boot with 25 strikes during the 2002/03 campaign, won the top-flight, the FA Cup, and the League Cup with United as he racked up silverware to go along with his personal achievements on the pitch.
By the end of his time in England, as he left to join Real Madrid in 2006, Transfermarkt placed his market valuation at a whopping €32m (£27.6m).
This means that his value had soared by £12.6m from the £15m that Rangers were willing to pay for him six years prior to that, which shows that the exceptional dynamo could have made the Scottish giants a significant profit in the future to go along with a constant stream of goals.
Instead, they signed Flo and the Norway international did not go on to enjoy as much success as van Nistelrooy did with his new club in 2000.
How many goals did Tore Andre Flo score for Rangers?
The former Chelsea number nine scored 33 goals in 64 matches in all competitions for the Light Blues over the course of two years in Scotland.
Flo produced 11 goals and one assist in 19 Scottish Premiership outings during his debut campaign with Advocaat's side, as he showcased his ability to find the back of the net on a regular basis.
He then racked up 18 goals and five assists in 30 league matches throughout the 2001/02, which meant that the Norwegian ace scored once every 1.69 top-flight games on average for Rangers.
The Gers forward did, however, struggle in Europe as he scored one goal in seven UEFA Cup appearances during his second season at Ibrox. Flo failed to step up to the plate against European opposition in the games where he could have showcased his ability against higher-quality opposition.
Overall, the former Premier League striker scored once every 1.94 clashes in all competitions for Rangers, which is not as impressive as van Nistelrooy's aforementioned output of a goal every 1.47 games for United throughout his spell in England after the Gers were interested in him.
Flo's market value also plummeted as the Dutch star's price soared. Sunderland signed the Norway international from the Light Blues in the summer of 2002 for a reported fee of £6.75m.
This was considerably less than the aforementioned £15.5m-rated move to Ibrox in 2000 and even less than the £27.6m that van Nistelrooy was valued at in 2006 by the time he left Old Trafford.
Therefore, Rangers had a nightmare with their failed swoop for the ex-Real Madrid and United star as he went on to prove himself to be a huge upgrade on Flo with his ability to find the back of the net at an exceptional rate at the top level.
Advocaat and the Gers could have benefited from his quality on the pitch for a few seasons before being able to sell him on for a significant profit, based on his soaring market value, and, instead, lost money on the ex-Chelsea finisher.
