Glasgow Rangers underwent their biggest transfer window in recent years during the summer, moving on 11 players while bringing nine fresh faces to the club as Michael Beale began a much-needed overhaul of the squad.

It didn’t come cheap either, as he splashed out £6m on Danilo and £3m on Sam Lammers and the results have yet to be seen. It is still early in their Rangers’ careers, but the duo will need to start making an impression sooner rather than later otherwise they could soon start to face the wrath of the Ibrox faithful.

The consensus is that they will come good, especially once they settle into life at the Light Blues, and they could both turn into excellent signings should they demonstrate their full potential.

It marks a huge difference signing players who have recently played in the Eredivisie and Serie A, as it wasn’t that long ago that the club were luring players north of the border for transfer fees that didn’t quite match their ability.

Graham Dorrans certainly falls into this category, and while he seemed like a positive signing at the time, having played nearly 150 matches in the Premier League for West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City, the move soon turned into a nightmare for both the midfielder and the Gers.

How much did Rangers sign Graham Dorrans for?

Pedro Caixinha was appointed as the manager of Rangers in March 2017 and by the time the summer transfer window rolled around, he acted swiftly in order to bulk up his squad which had just finished third in the Premiership.

Overall, 11 players arrived, either on loan or permanent deals, and it was the capture of Dorrans which was perhaps the most impressive, especially given his prior experience in England.

He cost £1.5m, which was a significant amount of money at the time, especially as the club had just completed their first season back in the top flight.

Former Gers boss Alex McLeish showered him with praise upon arriving in Glasgow, saying: “I like Graham as well. He would definitely have been a player I would have looked at if I was at Rangers, and even back when I was at Birmingham I liked him. At the time, I could never really get him, he had gone to West Brom and was doing well.

“He’s a good player. He’s stylish, he’s got the confidence and that’s exactly what that dressing room needs right now.

“He knows what it’s all about as a Rangers man, and it’s good to hear him say it’s a dream and that there’s never a bad time to play for Rangers. That’s a fantastic tribute to the club.”

What happened to Graham Dorrans?

The midfielder made an instant impact at the club, scoring twice on his league debut, and it looked as though the £1.5m fee could soon turn into a bargain.

Another six goal contributions followed – three goals and three assists – across the next 12 games as Dorrans soon became a mainstay in the heart of the Rangers midfield, and Caixinha even lauded him in October 2017, saying: “Dorrans is a great player.

“He is what I call a silent leader. He doesn’t need to shout, just leads all the time by playing football.

“It’s a different type of leadership that I like.

“We’ve trusted him since the very beginning and I know what he’s capable of. He can get even better.”

Everything was going swimmingly until he suffered an ankle injury that very same month which eventually resulted in surgery, and he missed a total of 26 games.

After making just six appearances on his return to the team, the 12-cap Scottish international suffered yet more injury woes, this time a knee injury, and it would ultimately lead to his departure.

Overall, Dorrans played just 23 games for the Light Blues, scoring five times and grabbing four assists, which wasn’t a bad return at all, yet it could have been so much better had he remained fit and was given a proper chance under Steven Gerrard.

Where is Graham Dorrans now?

Since leaving Rangers, the former Norwich gem has spent time at Dundee, Western Sydney Wanderers and Dunfermline Athletic and his stint in Australia proved that he still had the ability to make a difference in a team.

Across 23 matches for the club, Dorrans managed to find the back of the net four times while registering two assists, and he followed this up by returning to Scotland and claiming the League One title with the Pars during the 2022/23 season.

At 36 years old, the midfielder ended up joining West of Scotland Football League side Johnstone Burgh in May, and it was a remarkable drop for a player who was playing for Rangers just five years previously.

His new boss, Jamie McKim, was delighted to have someone of such experience joining his squad.

He said: "We're absolutely buzzing to get this deal over the line.

"It's definitely the biggest signing we as a club have ever made. It's certainly one of the biggest ever signings at our level too.”

Upon his arrival at the Gers back in the summer of 2017, the former Scotland international was a signing which signified how far the club had come in the previous five years, yet it soon turned into a nightmare for him.

Initial impressions were wonderful and Caixinha had a player who not only dominated games from the middle of the pitch, but someone who could also chip in with the odd goal and assist too.

Everything came crashing back down to earth once he suffered his ankle injury however as the player lost all the early momentum he had gained during the embryonic stages of his career at Rangers.

It wasn’t to be for Dorrans, and he will now be remembered as someone who couldn’t keep fit, wasting £1.5m in the process as the transfer may well go down as one of the worst in recent memory.

Perhaps if he had remained injury-free, Dorrans may have made more than 23 appearances for the Light Blues and not turned into another waste of money.