Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement is facing a big week in his tenure at Ibrox with two big matches to come in the Europa League and the League Cup.
Firstly, the Light Blues play host to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur at Ibrox in the Europa League on Thursday night, which will provide the team with a tough test, against the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, and Heung-min Son.
The Scottish giants will then have to quickly turn their attention to Hampden Park for the League Cup final clash with Celtic on Sunday, as Clement and Rangers look to retain the title.
A 1-0 win over Aberdeen, thanks to a goal from captain James Tavernier, secured the trophy for the Belgian head coach early on in his time in charge of the Light Blues.
He will be hoping for a similar performance and result to ease some of the pressure over his future at the club, after Football Insider reported last month that the board were prepared to give him the chance to win the competition before making a decision.
Irrespective of what happens on Sunday, though, Clement could convince the board to give him the January transfer window to turn things around, amid links to potential new signings.
Rangers have interest in Croatian wizard
According to RangersNews, the Light Blues are interested in a swoop to sign NK Osijek central midfielder Marko Soldo ahead of the second half of the season.
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The report claims that the Gers have a serious interest in the Croatia U21 international and have been scouting his performances this season.
It states that they have sent scouts to watch him in action multiple times and that they are continuing to do their due diligence on the exciting youngster, ahead of a possible swoop for his services next month.
The outlet adds that a deal could be done for a fee of up to €3m (£2.5m) and this means that the 21-year-old whiz could arrive for a relatively modest fee, which would make him a low-risk signing.
However, the report does not reveal whether or not technical director Nils Koppen is prepared to sanction a £2.5m bid for his services at this moment in time, as the club may want to do more scouting work to decide if he is the right fit for the team.
Signing a player from the 5th-placed team in Croatia may seem slightly rogue but Rangers did dip into the Danish market in the last January transfer window to sign Mohamed Diomande, who has proven to be a very solid addition to the squad.
Mohamed Diomande's time with Rangers so far
The central midfielder joined from Danish side FC Nordsjælland, who ended up finishing fourth in the Superliga, on loan until the end of the 2023/24 campaign to bolster Clement’s options in the middle of the park.
Despite only being 22 and it being his first experience of Scottish football, Diomande hit the ground running and caught the eye with his impressive performances in the Premiership.
The left-footed dynamo started 11 of his 13 appearances in the league in the second half of the season and contributed with two goals and 1.5 key passes per game offensively.
Diomande also made 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game and won 52% of his duels in the Premiership, which means that he offered quality creatively and out of possession by holding his own in physical battles to win the ball back for his side.
His form convinced the club to sign him permanently for a fee of at least £4.3m in the summer and the Ivorian gem has already made 23 appearances in all competitions so far this season.
Appearances
5
Goals
1
Assists
1
Tackles + interceptions per game
3.2
Ball recoveries per game
5.2
Duel success rate
51%
As you can see in the table above, Diomande has been a solid operator in Europe for Rangers this term, offering quality at both ends of the pitch, with goals, assists, recoveries, tackles, and interceptions, whilst holding his own in duels.
Rangers could, now, repeat the blinder they played in signing Diomande from a relatively obscure league, in comparison to domestic or major European league signings, by bringing in Soldo, who could be a dream for in-form forward Hamza Igamane.
Why Soldo would be a dream for Igamane
Firstly, the Moroccan Rangers star has emerged as a key player in the Gers squad in recent weeks with his impressive performances in multiple positions.
Igamane has produced four goals and one assist in his last four appearances in all competitions, whilst being deployed as a centre-forward and as a left winger.
Along with his four goals, the young gem created eight chances and two ‘big chances’ for his teammates in those four games, which shows that he can offer quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
Soldo is often deployed as a defensive or central midfielder for Osijek but his contributions in possession suggest that he could help Igamane to thrive.
The Croatian gem, whom writer Kai Watson claimed has started the season “brilliantly”, has the quality on the ball to make things happen as both a scorer and a creator.
Starts
11
Goals
4
Big chances created
6
Assists
4
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.9
As you can see in the table above, Soldo has created six ‘big chances’ in 11 starts in the league so far this season, to go along with his defensive and goalscoring contributions.
Meanwhile, James Tavernier (seven) is the only Rangers player who has created more than four ‘big chances’ in the Premiership for Clement.
This suggests that the £2.5m-rated star could come in to be the most creative midfield player in the squad, if he can translate his form over to Scottish football, and that is why he could thrive with Igamane, who could benefit from that creativity to increase his goal output.
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Soldo’s defensive and offensive contributions show that he is a well-rounded midfielder and, at the age of 21, he still has plenty of time to hone his skills and develop further, which is why he could be a fantastic addition to the group next month.
