Glasgow Rangers chiefs will not be pleased with the way the season has gone so far as the club already look set to miss out on the Scottish Premiership title.
The Light Blues are 16 points behind rivals Celtic in the top-flight and it is looking increasingly unlikely that they will be able to leapfrog their rivals to win a first title since the 2020/21 campaign under Steven Gerrard.
Philippe Clement’s side also missed out on the chance to secure a piece of silverware last month when they lost to Celtic on penalties in the final of the League Cup at Hampden Park.
The Light Blues must, now, focus their efforts on the SFA Cup and the Europa League in terms of ending the season with at least one piece of silverware to show for their efforts.
Clement and Nils Koppen could look to use the January transfer window to improve the squad with a view to giving the team the best chance of competing in those two competitions.
There are still around two weeks or so left to go before the deadline at the start of next month and one thing the Gers could look to do is manage their wage bill.
The highest earners at Rangers
The Light Blues moved on a number of experienced, high-earning, players last summer when they allowed the likes of John Lundstram, Todd Cantwell, Kemar Roofe, Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack, and Connor Goldson to move on from Ibrox.
Rangers do still, however, have a number of players on significant contracts who have not performed in line with their salary, when you consider the performances of some of the players earning less than them.
As you can see in the table above, a number of duds who do not start for the Light Blues on a regular basis are in the top ten earners at Ibrox, which is something that Koppen and Clement should look to address.
If you exclude Cerny, who is only on loan from Wolfsburg, Ianis Hagi is the only attacking midfielder or winger in that list who has started matches regularly this season, whether through form or fitness.
Ianis-Hagi-2
Hagi and Hamza Igamane, who is reportedly on a weekly wage of £7.2k, have both been standout stars for the Gers in the Premiership with their impressive performances at the top end of the pitch this term.
Igamane and Hagi’s form for Rangers this season
Neither of them started the 2024/25 campaign as starters in their respective positions but have catapulted to first-choice status and now seem undroppable.
Igamane joined the club last summer and was initially behind Cyriel Dessers in the pecking order. The Morocco U23 international has plundered an incredible 11 goals and two assists in his last 13 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues.
As you can see in the highlights above, the 22-year-old centre-forward recently scored his first hat-trick for the Scottish giants in the 3-3 draw with Motherwell.
He has emerged as a consistent and lethal attacker for the Light Blues this season, whilst Dessers – who earns almost £20k more per week – has only scored six goals in 19 league matches.
24/25 Premiership
Ianis Hagi
Hamza Igamane
Appearances
12
18
Starts
9
11
Goals
1
8
Big chances created
4
5
Key passes per game
1.7
1.0
Assists
4
1
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Igamane and Hagi have both provided plenty of quality at the top end of the pitch for Clement in the Premiership this term and have emerged as crucial players for the club.
There is an attacker in the squad, however, who earns more than both of them and should be ruthlessly sold by Koppen and the Gers boss before the end of the transfer window – Rabbi Matondo.
Why Rangers should sell Rabbi Matondo
As shown in the table earlier, the Wales international is the fifth-highest earner at the club, excluding loanees, on £23k-per-week and has not done enough to justify that over the last 18 months.
kieran-dowell-sterling-danilo-matondo-tavernier
The 24-year-old winger has only started two of his six appearances in the Premiership this season and has been an unused substitute in three of the last four matches, featuring in two of the last six since his return from injury.
Matondo has produced two goals and two assists in those six games, but all four of those goal contributions came in a 6-0 thrashing of Ross County, with zero goals or assists in the other five matches.
The Rangers flop missed 17 competitive games with a hamstring injury before his return to action in December, and that has been the story of his time at Ibrox to date.
Matondo has not offered much in the way of consistent contributions in the final third and has been absent far too often with fitness-related issues, which is why he is not a reliable player for Clement, particularly in comparison to Igamane and Hagi.
Rabbi Matondo’s injuries at Rangers
Injury
Length of injury
Games missed
Unknown
January 2023 – April 2023
20
Knee
September 2023 – November 2023
13
Muscle
February 2024 – March 2024
6
Hamstring
September 2024 – December 2024
17
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, the Welsh attacker has missed a whopping 56 competitive games since his move to Glasgow from Schalke in the summer of 2022.
Matondo has also only produced eight goals and 12 assists in 67 appearances for the Light Blues in all competitions during that time, which shows that he has not offered much to the team on the pitch in almost three seasons at Ibrox.
It was recently reported that Torino and Lecce are both interested in signing the forward and that a fee of £2m could be on the cards, and Clement must push for a deal to go through before the end of the window.
Calvin-Bassey-Rangers
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The Rangers boss must ruthlessly ditch the winger from the squad because he has not offered enough, in terms of performances or availability, to justify the high wages he is on.
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Matondo and Dresser top off the list one won’t play other can’t play , right behind those two Clement and his side kick Coppen, spend fortune on duds they couldn’t spell footballer, Ianis Hagi right inside our club , Lawrence Shankland wants to play for Rangers and there pissing about with his transfer fee , it beggars belief how people like this are running our club .
2025-01-15 12:03:35
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