FOR football fans, the most stressed they will be during the summer transfer window revolves whether their club signs the player they want or not.
But for many footballers themselves it’s a time of panic as they desperately look for a new club to avoid starting the following season unemployed.
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Sometimes it doesn’t matter how extensive your CV is either.
And this list is evidence of that as we’ve compiled a group of FIFTEEN former Rangers stars who are going into the close season searching for a new home.
From goalkeepers to strikers, it’s an exhaustive list and includes some players who have been in this position for months (Even years in one case) already.
Starting from the back, here we go…
Jon McLaughlin
The twice-capped Scotland goalkeeper had only a brief spell as a No.1 at Rangers and it didn’t exactly go smoothly.
But the 37-year-old is, pardon the pun, a safe pair of hands.
McLaughlin was on the books at Gers between 2020 and 2024 before he was released.
He then joined Swansea City on a six-month deal and that was extended until the end of the current season in January.
But the Swans have let him walk and he’s now a free agent again.
Lee Hodson
The Northern Ireland international joined Rangers after putting himself on show during a loan spell at Kilmarnock in 2016.
He signed for Gers for an undisclosed fee in their first year back in the Premiership but made just 18 appearances across all competitions, scoring once.
Hodson was shipped out on loan to St Mirren in 2018 and enjoyed more game time but was soon on the move again as he was deemed surplus to requirements at Ibrox, joining Gillingham on a permanent deal.
But he struggled for minutes there and spent time on loan again at St Mirren and Hamilton before a permanent return to Kilmarnock.
Hodson fell out of favour at Rugby Park and was again put on loan, this time to Partick Thistle, and the 33-year-old is now a free agent upon the expiration of his deal with non-league side Eastleigh.
Emerson Hyndman
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The American midfielder is the perfect example of what we earlier about CVs often counting for nothing.
This is a player who has played in the Premier League in England, played for a massive club like Rangers, yet has been without a club for six months.
Hyndman joined Gers on loan from Bournemouth in January 2017.
He had progressed through Fulham’s youth system before being snapped up by the ambitious Cherries.
Hyndman scored four goals in 17 appearances for Gers and some sections of the Ibrox support wanted to make the move permanent.
But it didn’t work out and he returned to Bournemouth.
He was soon back in Scotland on loan at Hibs but was then allowed to return home to the USA to join Atlanta United.
Hyndman left upon the expiration of his contract and moved fown a tier from the MLS to the USL Championship with Memphis 1901.
His spell there ended in December last year and as of today the 29-year-old is still on the hunt for a new club.
Ovie Ejara
Steven Gerrard used his Liverpool links to bring the silky midfielder to Ibrox on loan in June 2018.
The deal was supposed to last the full season but he was recalled in January after he blew hot and cold in light blue.
Ejaria signed for Reading in a permanent transfer after spending 18 months on loan at the Madejski Stadium but since being released in December 2023, he’s yet to find another club.
After making the last of his 72 appearances for the Berkshire side, Ejaria has had trials with Plymouth Argyle and Egpytian outfit Zamalek but wasn’t able to win a contract.
At 27, the former Arsenal and Liverpool youth star remains unsigned.
Sean Goss
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The Manchester United trainee joined Rangers on loan from Queens Park Rangers in January 2018 and interim boss Graeme Murty was keen to make the signing a permanent one that summer.
QPR manager Ian Holloway didn’t agree to say the least but his performances for Gers tailed off after a positive start and he wasn’t able to make an impact back down in London upon the return to his parent club.
He came back up to Scotland on loan to St Johnstone and again on a permanent basis two years later when Motherwell signed him from Shrewsbury.
The midfielder was a regular for ‘Well but didn’t agree new terms with the club and left to join Asteras Tripolis in 2023.
After two years there he moved to AS Trenčín in Slovakia of all places but his contract there has now expired and he is up for grabs at the age of 29.
Nathan Oduwa
A tricky winger, former Tottenham Hotspur kid Oduwa has been without a club for over a YEAR now.
After a year on loan at Luton Town (then in League Two) Mark Warburton gave him a sample of football at a higher level when he signed him on loan whilst Gers were in the Championship.
He made 19 appearances and scored one goal but perhaps became most famous due to the criticism he received at the hands of Alloa defender Colin Hamilton, who told him in no uncertain terms that he’d be in for a bit of a kicking if he attempted another rainbow flick like the one he did in a league game against the Wasps.
Since his loan at Gers ended Oduwa has played for a host of clubs.
Before being released by Spurs he was sent on loan to Colchester United and Peterborough and after quitting White Hart Lane he moved to NK Olimpija in Slovenia.
Oduwa, now 29, has travelled to Denmark, Israel, Ireland, Azerbaijan and most recently South Korea to continue his football career.
But it’s now been a full season since he last played.
Jordan Rossiter
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Hailed as the next Gerrard after coming through the youth ranks at Anfield, Rangers thought they’d pulled off a huge coup when Rossiter came north of the border in 2016.
He drew comparisons to the Reds icon – from none other than Robbie Fowler – because of his tenacity and leadership in the youth team’s midfield, winning Liverpool’s Academy Player of the Year award in 2014.
But his time in Scotland was blighted by injuries and it’s been stop-start for him ever since.
He played just 16 times across four years at Gers and has spent the majority of his career since then in League One in England.
Rossiter joined Oldham Athletic in the National League in January on a short-term basis and is now 28 and without a club.
Daniel Candeias
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Without doubt the player on this list with the biggest impact at Ibrox during his time there (so far, anyway).
The Portuguese winger was a fan favourite thanks to his endless running, somewhat bucking the trend of foreign players who didn’t work hard.
He was a goal threat too, scoring 14 goals across two seasons in which he was a regular contributor.
Candeias cost Gers £700,000 from Benfica but he was allowed to moved on in 2019 after Turkish club Gençlerbirliği came in.
He’s primarily played in Turkey since – save for a six-month spell back in his homeland last season – but is now a free agent at 37 upon the expiration of a deal with Adanaspor.
Barrie McKay
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Another player that the Ibrox faithful took to their hearts, McKay rose through the youth system at Ibrox to become a first team star.
Without doubt his most famous moment came in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic in 2016 when he struck a stunning equaliser from long distance that helped send Rangers towards a place in the final.
A highly technical player, McKay would go on to play almost 150 total games for the Light Blues and even earned a Scotland cap in 2016.
Come the 2017-18 season, and with Pedor Caixinha now in charge, Warburton lured him to Nottingham Forest on loan and his time at Gers was all but up from there.
He joined Swansea City the following summer but returned to Scottish football in 2021 to sign for Hearts.
After four years at Tynecastle he’s now a free agent at the ago of 30.
Michael O’Halloran
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The pacy wide man was recently released by Dunfermline at the age of 34.
He was a youth star at Celtic before signing pro terms with Bolton Wanderers.
He spent the start of his senior career in the lower leagues in England before an impressive two years at St Johnstone earned him a move to Rangers for £500,000.
Things didn’t work out however and he was mainly a substitute during his time at Ibrox, leaving halfway into his four-year deal to sign for Melbourne City in Australia.
He cut that short to return to St Johnstone where he played for another four seasons.
A loan spell at Cove Rangers was followed by a year at East End Park but he wasn’t among the list of players retained by new boss Neil Lennon.
Greg Stewart
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Played some of the best football of his career in Scotland before his stint at Rangers, racking up goals with Dundee and Kilmarnock in between spells at Aberdeen.
Stewart was a squad player at Rangers and amassed 33 appearances whilst at Ibrox before embarking on a new challenge in India.
He’s since won the Indian Super League three times with three different teams and was player of the season in 2021-22 at Jamshedpur.
But the 35-year-old wasn’t retained by big-spending Mohun Bagan and is now on the hunt for another club.
Florian Kamberi
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The Swiss striker spent time on loan at Ibrox in between spells at Hibs and Aberdeen and it was only really in Edinburgh where he left his mark.
He scored 21 goals in 70 games for the Hibees but only hit the net once each for either club.
He’s bounced around from Switzerland to England, Croatia and Romania but and is now 30 and without a club after a short spell at Politehnica Iași came to an end.
Joe Dodoo
The former Leicester City forward has been in this position before.
Dodoo went the best part of two YEARS unemployed before signing terms with non-league Solihull Moors, scoring on his debut.
But after making seven appearances between March 2025 and the end of the season, Dodoo is once again a free agent.
He was picked up by Rangers as a 21-year-old in 2016 and will turn 30 before the end of this month.
Joe Garner
A veteran at 37 years of age, Garner has been a team mate of fellow ex-Ger Rossiter for the past six months at Oldham.
But he is also looking for a club now too.
Rangers are one of 13 clubs he has played for so far in his career.
Garner cost Gers a cool £1.8m from Preson North End in 2016 and he scored ten goals in 34 appearances before Ipswich Town swooped in with a bid of £1m to bring him back to England.
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Kemar Roofe
A cult hero in the eyes of the Rangers support, Roofe could have reached even greater status at Ibrox if it wasn’t for persistent fitness issues.
The West Bromwich Albion youth talent spent four years with Rangers but never made more than 24 league appearances in a year.
In total he played 102 games and scored 38 goals, including a goal of the season contender in 2020 against Standard Liege in the Europa League.
He was part of the squad that won the league in 2020-21 and tasted Scottish Cup and League Cup glory during his time in Glasgow too.
Roofe also played his part in the run to the Europa League final in 2022 but there was still a sense of what might have been when he left upon the expiration of his contract in 2024.
The former Leeds United ace spent months training in public parks covered in dog poo to keep his fitness up and signed Derby County for the latter half of last season.
But the Rams only signed him on a short-term deal and that will expire in a matter of weeks, with boss John Eustace looking to strengthen the squad to avoid another relegation battle.
Roofe only played three times for Derby but at 32, he’ll hope to stay fit and be a viable option for a team in need of a veteran finisher.
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