Scottish Premiership club Glasgow Rangers are set to complete the signing of Bafana Bafana defender Olwethu Makhanya, with an official announcement expected in the coming days. The Ibrox side will be hoping the South African centre-back enjoys greater success than some of the club’s previous recruits from the country.

Makhanya is on the verge of leaving Major League Soccer outfit Philadelphia Union after spending three seasons in the United States, where he developed into one of the league’s standout defenders.

The 22-year-old has not returned to Philadelphia following the FIFA Club World Cup, reportedly maintaining that the club had assured him they would allow him to leave should an acceptable offer arrive.

According to reports, Rangers have agreed a $4.5 million deal for Makhanya as new manager Derek McInnes continues to strengthen his defensive options ahead of the new campaign. McInnes took charge after guiding Heart of Midlothian to an impressive title challenge last season.

Rangers are currently short of experienced central defenders, with Emmanuel Fernandez and former Everton defender Ben Godfrey the only recognised centre-backs available in the squad. Adding another quality option has become a priority for McInnes.

Makhanya is viewed as a player with significant long-term potential, and if he adapts successfully to Scottish football, Rangers could also benefit from a substantial future transfer fee.

Makhanya’s rise has been rapid since emerging from the Stellenbosch FC academy. The defender made his senior debut against Kaizer Chiefs in October 2022 at just 18 years old before earning a move to Major League Soccer after only one full season in South African football.

He broke into the Philadelphia Union first team in February 2025 and quickly established himself as a regular in the starting line-up. Although he has collected three red cards during his time with the club, his performances have cemented his reputation as one of the side’s key defenders.

The centre-back earned his first senior Bafana Bafana cap in May in a friendly against Nicaragua. However, he was left out of the squad during the World Cup, with Ime Okon preferred in his position.

If the move to Ibrox is completed, Makhanya will be hoping to avoid the struggles experienced by the last South African to represent Rangers. Midfielder Bongani Zungu joined the Scottish giants on loan from French club Amiens during the second half of the 2020/21 season but failed to make a lasting impact.

Zungu’s spell was overshadowed by an off-field incident after he attended a party in breach of COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in a six-match suspension from the Scottish Football Association. On the pitch, he managed only four starts and 16 substitute appearances before departing, with his loan spell widely regarded as unsuccessful.

Makhanya would become the fifth South African to play for Rangers. Former Bafana Bafana captain Dean Furman also featured for the club, making a solitary substitute appearance as a teenager in 2008, while the other two South African representatives date back several decades.

Long before the modern era, Rangers were home to two South African trailblazers who left a lasting mark at Ibrox.

Don Kitchenbrand, who hailed from Boksburg on Johannesburg’s East Rand, was the son of a miner and established himself as one of the finest South African footballers of his generation. He began a five-year spell in British football with Rangers and, at the time of his passing last year at the age of 91, was the club’s oldest living former player.

Nicknamed the “Rhino” for his powerful style of play, Kitchenbrand kept his Catholic faith private during his time at Rangers, fearing it could have jeopardised his career at the club.

“If they’d found out, I might have been killed. But I’m not sorry. One thing I can say is that I never failed to score against Celtic,” he once recalled.

Kitchenbrand enjoyed a sensational debut campaign in 1955/56, scoring 24 goals in 25 appearances as Rangers won the Scottish league title. One of the standout moments of that season came in an emphatic 8-0 victory over Queen of the South, when he found the net five times. Injury eventually cost him his place in the team, leading to a move to Sunderland in 1958.

Another South African to carve out a memorable Rangers career was Pretoria-born Johnny Hubbard. The winger scored 77 goals in 172 appearances between 1949 and 1959 and remains the only overseas player to have netted a hat-trick in an Old Firm derby against Celtic.

Hubbard’s contribution to Rangers was later recognised with induction into the club’s Hall of Fame. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 87, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most celebrated foreign players in the club’s history.