Glasgow Rangers went through a summer of transition under Michael Beale as there were plenty of incomings and outgoings throughout the off-season.
In truth, this overhaul was needed a season or two ago, yet the board failed to back Steven Gerrard adequately enough, and it led to Celtic reasserting their dominance of the Scottish game, ensuring Beale now faces a massive challenge this term in order to claim some domestic silverware.
The 43-year-old signed nine players during the transfer window, with the likes of Jack Butland, Jose Cifuentes and Danilo among the high-profile arrivals.
Butland – who has been described as an upgrade on Allan McGregor by pundit Kris Boyd – is really the only one who has settled well into life at Ibrox, and it may take some of the others some time to gel and forge connections with their new teammates.
As well as reinvigorating the team with some fresh faces, Beale also shipped quite a few first-team stars out of Ibrox. Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos left for nothing as they chose to run their contracts down, while Glen Kamara and Fashion Sakala were moved on for £5m and £4m, respectively.
One of the best pieces of business the former QPR boss did was to sell Antonio Colak, however, despite the striker playing only one season at the Gers.
How much did Rangers sign Antonio Colak for?
After leading the club to their first Scottish Cup since 2009 and coming so close to Europa League glory, Giovanni van Bronckhorst spent the summer of 2022 strengthening his squad ahead of the next season.
Colak was signed from Greek side PAOK and Rangers knew all about his qualities as he had scored a double for Malmo when they knocked the Light Blues out of the Champions League at the beginning of the 2021/22 campaign.
A fee of £1.8m was enough to secure his signature and Van Bronckhorst heaped praise on him, saying: "He is a very experienced player who has played at high levels and scored a lot of goals for the teams he has played for.
"We wanted to add some more players to our attacking options, and Colak is a player we welcome a lot and will give us a lot of strength up front."
Sporting director Ross Wilson was another who lauded Colak. He said: "Welcome to Antonio, we are delighted to have him join our squad. I know how much Gio and the staff are looking forward to working with him on the pitch.”
Everything looked positive that the Croatian would be a success at the club, and it didn’t take him long to hit the ground running.
What happened to Antonio Colak?
Colak came to life for the club during the qualifiers for the Champions League, scoring three goals in four matches, including the winner against PSV Eindhoven that secured group-stage football.
The striker continued his excellent form up until the hiatus for the 2022 World Cup as he ended up scoring 14 goals under Van Bronckhorst, and it was beginning to look like £1.8m was going to be a bargain.
His form tailed off when Beale was appointed manager in November last year, however, with injury issues resulting in him starting just five times under the current boss, and it looked as though he didn’t quite fit his tactical system.
Colak was praised by Rangers Review journalist Joshua Barrie however, who said: “Colak's had a really good game to this point.
“It's his shot that creates the first and his pass the second but more his link-up that's caught the eye. Has dropped in consistently to create overloads and looked sharp.”
He finished the 2022/23 season as the club's joint top scorer with 18 goals, alongside James Tavernier, but it looked as though he was set to leave the club during the summer.
Where is Antonio Colak now?
Italian side Parma came in with a £2.5m bid during the transfer window and having already signed a few new forwards, the Light Blues accepted the bid, and it was a decent profit on the fee they spent on him just a year previously.
Beale only had good words to say about the 6 foot 2 hitman, saying: "Antonio can be really proud of his time here at Rangers. He scored goals and made a good contribution on the pitch but also as a man and professional, he was someone that I enjoyed working with and who built strong relationships with his team mates and staff off the pitch.
“We initially had a conversation at the end of last season, where we discussed football, his family and also what the future would look like in terms of the team. Antonio was very honest on his side and we have been working with him and his agent in the following weeks to find a solution that suits all parties. I am pleased for him to have this excellent opportunity in Italy.”
Although Colak has scored twice in his opening four matches for the Serie B side, it is evident that the Gers have struck gold by selling him on for £2.5m.
According to Football Transfers, Colak is now valued at €2.4m (£2m) and this represents a decline from the fee they spent on him just a couple of months ago.
Although he will continue to score goals in the second tier for Parma, the striker is on the wrong side of 30 and unless something dramatic happens, his value will only continue to drop in the coming months.
He only spent one season at Rangers, but with 18 goals in that timeframe, it represented a solid return for a player who was perhaps slightly one-dimensional and struggled to really get into games.
Beale has spent money on Cyriel Dessers, Danilo, and Sam Lammers this summer in a bid to improve his attacking options, but they have a long way to go in order to catch reach the 18 goals that Colak netted last term.
It is still early days, but none of the three have really caught the eye, and it will be up to Beale to try and get a tune out of them.