Glasgow Rangers boss Danny Rohl may have been surprised by the Ibrox reaction at half-time in midweek, although the home crowd are right to be demanding and expectant.
Indeed, with the gap now down to just three points at the Premiership summit, Rohl’s side are firmly in this title race, with there set to be no excuses following an extensive window of recruitment.
The marquee January capture was undoubtedly that of Andreas Skov Olsen, with hopes high that the on-loan Wolfsburg man can be this season’s Vaclav Cerny, having followed the Czech winger in making the move from Germany to Glasgow.
Already off the mark in Gers colours, it’s been a promising start for the Danish sensation thus far, already matching his Bundesliga tally following a difficult first half of the campaign.
Much of Rangers’ title hopes may well be pinned on his experienced shoulders, but he won’t have to carry that burden on his own.
Why Rangers’ front four didn’t work vs Kilmarnock
Wednesday’s thumping 5-1 win over ten-man Kilmarnock saw Rohl make the intriguing decision to leave all four of his new signings on the bench, a decision that didn’t exactly pay off considering the home side’s muted first-half at Ibrox.
Breaking down a team with a man light certainly isn’t easy, as the German coach was keen to stress, although there was a clear lack of creativity in the starting lineup, with Thelo Asgaard and Djeidi Gassama notably providing just two key passes between them before their second-half withdrawals.
It was telling that following his late introduction, Skov Olsen matched that tally on his own, while lashing home his first goal for the club, with fellow substitute Oliver Antman also registering two key passes, alongside his goal and assist late on.
|
Skov Olsen vs Gassama – Kilmarnock |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat |
Skov Olsen |
Gassama |
|
Minutes |
30 |
60 |
|
Touches |
35 |
33 |
|
Pass rate |
88% |
65% |
|
Key passes |
2 |
0 |
|
Shots |
2 |
1 |
|
Goals |
1 |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
0 |
|
Succ. dribbles |
1/2 |
0/1 |
|
Ball lost |
5 |
13 |
In an ideal world, Rohl may well have Antman and Skov Olsen tussling for a starting berth off the right, while Gassama could well battle young Mikey Moore off the left, with the introduction of Tuur Rommens at full-back potentially said to aid either winger down that flank.
Equally too, Skov Olsen’s creative prowess, having racked up 30 assists in 124 games at Club Brugge, could see him deployed ahead of Asgaard in the number ten berth, with Rohl’s side still lacking that real playmaking number ten to pull the strings behind the striker.
As for that centre-forward berth, meanwhile, Bojan Miovski notched his fourth league goal of the season against Killie, although it was a frustrating performance all-round from the Macedonian.
With Youssef Chermiti absent in midweek, it would be no surprise to see new man Ryan Naderi nail down that central role, with the 22-year-old in line to be Rangers’ next superstar in the making.
Why Rangers could have a £69m star in the making
With Moore off the left, and Skov Olsen off the right, the bigger battle is likely to be at no.10 or at centre-forward. Thankfully, the aforementioned Naderi can feature in both of those roles just as comfortably.
Rangers have hit gold on star who’s already worth more than Skov Olsen
Rangers have hit the jackpot on this star whose value has soared by £5m already this season.
Indeed, for Hansa Rostock this season, the elegant forward registered eight goals and four assists in Germany’s third tier, playing through the middle as a striker with the license to drop deep and influence the build-up.
His lack of senior experience might be a concern, although all the signs point to Rangers having pulled off a truly astute deal, after forking out a fee of around £4.7m to land their man on deadline day.
That might well be less than the expected £8.6m that it could take to land Skov Olsen permanently, although Naderi might even be the man with the higher ceiling, not least considering the comparisons that have been made regarding his quality of late.
“I spoke today with some coaches in Germany and a lot of messages and they compare with him former player Fredi Bobic and (Nick) Woltemade, and this direction”, Rohl said.
“If he can bring this level here then we will have a lot of fun with him.”
As Rohl alluded to this week, following the confirmation of his signing, coaches back in his homeland have likened Naderi to compatriot, Nick Woltemade, with the 6 foot 4 striker also rising from Germany’s lower leagues to become a star at Bundesliga and now Premier League level.
Like Naderi, the ex-Stuttgart man – who scored 18 times last term in his solitary campaign for the club – has that knack for being able to feature as a number nine or in a more withdrawn role, having been trialled alongside Yoane Wissa at St James’ Park this season.
Already on nine goals on Tyneside, the 23-year-old is beginning to pay back his lofty £69m price tag, with that representing a significant sum for a player who was in the third tier as recently as 2022/23.
Woltemade has laid the pathway for Naderi to follow in the years to come, with the likeness between the pair suggesting that Rangers’ deadline day arrival could be on a similar trajectory.
Skov Olsen, undoubtedly, was the window’s statement deal due to his fine work at Brugge, yet if those Woltemade comparisons bear fruit, Naderi could prove to be the better, more exciting signing for the Light Blues.
Scottish star who left Rangers for £0 is now a bigger talent than Naderi
This former Glasgow Rangers attacker is now an even bigger talent than Ryan Naderi, three years after leaving.
