Rangers have added another attacking option to their summer rebuild, with Daisuke Yokota arriving from Hannover 96 on a three-year deal with an option for a further 12 months. The move, worth an initial £2.75m plus add-ons, takes the club to nine summer signings and gives them another player with experience across several European leagues.
The timing matters as much as the fee. Rangers were due to face Jagiellonia Białystok on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier, so this is not just a signing for the future. It is part of a recruitment drive designed to strengthen the squad now, and Yokota becomes the latest addition in a summer that has already seen eight others come in.
Why Rangers moved for Yokota
Yokota is 26 and brings a profile Rangers have clearly targeted: quick, direct and able to affect the final third. Derek McInnes said the club had been aware of him for some time, and the numbers help explain why. Last season, his loan spell at Hannover 96 became permanent, and he responded with five goals and four assists in Germany’s second division.
That followed a broader European journey that began when he signed for Valmiera in 2021. In 2022, he helped them win their first ever championship title and posted eight goals and 10 assists, before moving on to Gent in 2024. That path through Germany, Latvia, Poland and Belgium suggests a player who has had to adapt quickly and has already done some of his development outside the usual spotlight.
What the move means now
For Rangers, this looks like a calculated investment rather than a headline-grabbing gamble. The fee is significant enough to show intent, but the deal structure also gives the club flexibility. More importantly, the signing fits the logic of a squad being built for both domestic competition and European qualification, where depth and attacking variety tend to matter as much as any single star turn.
Yokota said he was excited to join a club with a major history, passionate supporters and high ambitions, and that he wants to help Rangers achieve success this season. That is the right language for a player arriving into a team that is clearly still in motion. The larger question is whether the new pieces can settle quickly enough to matter in the next few weeks, not just the next few months. For Rangers, that is the test transfermarkt cannot answer on its own.
