Danilo has surely already played his final game for Rangers after he departed the club on loan earlier this week.

The Scottish Premiership’s winter transfer window slammed shut at 11pm on Monday night, but that didn’t stop the Gers from finding a way of getting the Brazilian out of the door for the remainder of the campaign.

Rangers loaned Danilo out to NEC Nijmegen, with the Dutch Eredivisie’s later deadline allowing for the deal to be completed after the window had already drawn to a close in Scotland.

Danny Rohl secured a last-minute attacking addition of his own in the form of Ryan Naderi, and that deal opened the door for the German to move out a player who has found regular gametime hard to come by of late.

NEC Nijmegen likely to trigger purchase option in Danilo deal

Football Insider revealed last weekend that Rangers were prepared to accept offers for Danilo in the final days of the transfer window, and that ultimately proved to be the case as Naderi’s arrival opened the door to his exit.

The 26-year-old hadn’t started a league game for the Ibrox outfit since 3 December, and with another striker joining alongside the likes of Youssef Chermiti and Bojan Miovski, he was set to fall even further down the pecking order.

However, while Danilo’s exit was sanctioned with an initial loan deal, the purchase option that was included as part of the agreement has handed control to NEC Nijmegen.

The Eredivisie outift are delighted with their deal to sign the former Feyenoord man, with their technical director Carlos Aalbers outlining the details of the deal during a recent interview with Voetbal International.

“We are very happy that we have negotiated a purchase option so that we have a grip on the situation,” Aalbers said.

“It is also a realistic transfer fee, should we decide to take up the option.”

Danilo’s move to Nijmegen is still in the early stages, but the comments from the club official certainly suggest that they have every intention of making the move permanent, which leaves the prospect of the striker leaving Rangers for good looking inevitable at this stage.

How did Ryan Naderi’s debut for Rangers go?

Naderi was praised for his work rate on his Rangers debut, even if the quality of his finishing left a lot to be desired during his opening outing for his new club.

The 22-year-old has effectively arrived as a direct replacement for Danilo, and his move has big expectations attached after it broke the record for the most expensive sale from the German third tier.

However, while Naderi’s defensive efforts were praised by pundits and fans alike in the midweek victory over Kilmarnock, he would have hoped to have made more of an impact in an attacking sense.

The new man fired three shots at goal during his 30 minute cameo, and saw two of them blocked while another missed the target.

Naderi also missed one big chance to mark his Rangers debut with a goal, and fans will be hoping that doesn’t become symptomatic of his time with the club.