Rangers star’s former club ‘really miss him’ with £1.5m exit leaving them ‘hurt’

There are certainly better times to lose your captain.

With a crucial, make-or-break Champions League qualifier only a few days away, FC Twente certainly did not welcome Rangers’ sudden interest in Robin Propper.

Arnold Bruggink, the club’s technical director, admitted that he even refused to take Rangers’ calls initially. General manager Dominique Scholten, meanwhile, would describe Propper’s eventual £1.5 million move to Ibrox as ‘extremely unfortunate‘.

Whether the 30-year-old centre-back would have seen Twente past Red Bull Salzburg and into the Champions League group-stages is anyone’s guess.

But, conceding five goals across two legs without their defensive lynchpin, it is no coincidence that, without him, Twente suffered the same fate that befell Rangers following Jefte’s ‘joke’ of a red card against Dynamo Kyiv.

FC Twente are missing Rangers newbie Robin Propper

Despite the best efforts of youngster Mees Hilgers – suddenly under pressure to step up into a leadership role – Twente do not look anywhere near as solid without Propper mopping things up and powering headers out of the penalty area.

Only two teams – champions PSV Eindhoven and runners-up Feyenoord – boasted a better defensive record than Twente in 2023/24.

Without Propper, Joseph Oosting’s side have failed to keep a clean sheet in five matches. They are currently conceding almost two goals a game on average.

So, if the skipper’s departure was ‘extremely unfortunate’ in it’s timing, it is also proving to be pretty damaging a month on; Twente’s Champions League ambitions going up in smoke while stumbling out of the blocks domestically.

“That was a real blow for FC Twente and an unpleasant surprise,” Geert-Jan Jakobs, a reporter who specialises in all things Enschede, tells Voetbal International. “(Propper’s exit) certainly hurt.

“You can also see in the first matches of the season that they really miss him. He is a player who gives direction to a team and has experience, apart from the qualities that he certainly also has.