Where are Rangers’ Newcastle 5 now? Ibrox club’s 2015 loanees explored as one star earns big money Premier League switch
WHATEVER happened to Rangers' 'Newcastle five?'
Kevin Mbabu, one of the infamous group of Toon loanees, is back in the Premier League after sealing a £6.5 million move to Fulham.
The 27-year old was one of five Newcastle fringe stars to be shipped-off to Ibrox on loan for the second half of the 2014/15 season.
It was at the time when then-Newcastle owner Mike Ashley held a large chunk of Gers shares.
Mbabu was one of two players in the group of loanees who failed to make a single Light Blues appearance.
Only one player of the five made any kind of impact and, unsurprisingly, none of them were back at the club the following season after the team's failure to secure promotion back to the top tier.
So we know were Mbabu is and what the future holds for him - but what about the rest of the Newcastle five?
SunSport takes a closer look at what they're all up to now.
Kevin Mbabu
Mbabu has enjoyed plenty of success in the years following his ill-fated Gers spell.
After a brief return to Newcastle where he made three Premier League appearances, he returned to his homeland Switzerland with Young Boys.
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He tasted league title glory in 2018 and 2019 before heading to Germany to join Wolfsburg in an £8 million deal.
He spent the last three years in the Bundesliga before moving on to Fulham.
Mbabu has lined up against the likes of Manchester United and Juventus in the Champions League and he's also become an international regular.
He's won 22 caps for Switzerland and featured at the Euros last summer.
Remi Streete
One of the quirks of the loan moves was then interim boss Kenny McDowall's claim that he had been told he "must play" the Newcastle loanees.
It was little surprise then when Remie Streete made his debut at Ibrox against Raith Rovers in the first game following the agreement.
However, that would end up being the centre back's ONLY Gers appearance.
He hobbled off injured before half-time and that was that.
After being released by Newcastle, Streete moved to Port Vale where he made 50 appearances.
Haris Vuckic
Vuckic was already a fully-fledged Slovenia international with Premier League matches under his belt when he joined Rangers.
Perhaps it isn't too much of a surprise then that he was the one player who did manage to make an impact.
Vuckic bagged eight goals in 15 league games for Rangers as he looked to boost their promotion hopes.
After returning to Newcastle, he was subsequently loaned out again to Wigan and Bradford.
He then made a switch to Dutch football with Twente in 2017 before then joining Real Zaragoza in Spain two years ago.
Shane Ferguson
Shane Ferguson has enjoyed a good career since his Gers spell.
A knee ligament injury meant he couldn't play for the Light Blues until their final two games of the season - the play-off final against Motherwell.
That ended in a 6-1 aggregate thrashing by Motherwell as the Gers were condemned to a second season in the second tier so it's no surprise that Ferguson's spell isn't too well remembered.
He went on to spend five years at Millwall where he made over 200 appearances in all competitions before joining Rotherham United last year.
Gael Bigirimana
Like Mbabu, Bigirimana was never seen in a Rangers matchday side.
Then-Gers boss Stuart McCall even remarked that the midfielder should NEVER have been signed.
A medical condition meant he could never make his debut for the club.
Capped internationally by Burundi, Bigirimana made a return to Scottish football with Motherwell in 2017.
He impressed at Fir Park and moved on to Hibs in 2019 - but ended up making just one solitary appearance for the Easter Road club.
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Since that brief Edinburgh spell, he's played for Solihull Moors in England, Glentoran in Northern Ireland and Tanzanian club Young Africans who he joined this month.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page