Glasgow Rangers have not won the Scottish Premiership title in over four years and they have not won any trophy since they lifted the League Cup in 2023.
It is no secret that Russell Martin needs to bring glory back to Ibrox, by winning trophies, but it is a collective effort that starts from the ownership and goes down through Kevin Thelwell, Martin, to the players on the pitch.
Ultimately, there needs to be a strong footballing model in place that creates a squad that is good enough for the manager, whomever that may be, to get results on the pitch.
Whilst supporters may not want to hear it, one thing Rangers can learn from their city rivals is how they develop and sell young talent for profit. They have made millions over the years by selling the likes of Jota, Kyogo, Virgil van Dijk, Odsonne Edouard, Matt O’Riley, and many, many more.
The Light Blues, however, have not had as much success in the department, as Calvin Bassey is the only player to have been sold for more than £20m in the club’s history, per Transfermarkt.
Rangers signed Youssef Chermiti from Everton in a deal worth up to £10m on deadline day. For that outlay, the Gers will surely be hoping that he joins that exclusive £20m+ club with Bassey.
Why Youssef Chermiti needs to be a success at Rangers
The Light Blues really need the Portugal U21 international to be a success at Ibrox because of the fee that was splashed out for him and because of what his success could mean for the club.
From the financial perspective, the Gers need Chermiti to be a big player for the team because the £10m deal to bring him to Glasgow is the most expensive deal sanctioned by the club since the club-record £12m move for Tore Andre Flo from Chelsea in 2000.
That places pressure on the centre-forward to perform and pressure on Thelwell for the signing to work out, because his judgement may get called into question if it does not work.
Appearances
20
4
Minutes
287
49
Shots
8
3
Goals
0
0
Key passes
5
0
Assists
0
0
As you can see in the table above, Chermiti did not enjoy a good time with Everton over the last two seasons in England after his £15m move from Sporting in 2023.
This shows that Rangers have not signed a ready-made superstar for Scottish football, which is why it is even more important for him to be a success because they have taken a huge financial gamble on a player who has yet to prove himself at senior level.
Another reason why Chermiti needs to be a success at Ibrox is because it would provide the Gers with an example to show other promising young talents in the future that they can provide a platform for young talent.
Celtic can point to van Dijk, O’Riley, Dembele, Edouard, and Kieran Tierney, among others, and show potential signings that there is a clear pathway to major clubs across Europe.
This is merely a theory, but it does make you wonder if Rangers have ever missed out on any promising young talents because they did not see enough of a pathway to a bigger move in the future.
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In fact, the Scottish giants had one such promising young talent on trial with the B team in 2023, Yan Diomande, but he ultimately did not decide to sign for the club. He is now playing in one of Europe’s major leagues and is worth millions more than any current Rangers player.
Rangers missed out on Yan Diomande
In October 2023, the 16-year-old winger played for the Rangers B team against Monaco, whilst Steven Davis was the interim manager of the first-team, in a 3-1 loss to the French side.
Football Scotland confirmed that Diomande was on trial for the Scottish giants from American side AS Frenzi, who were in the fourth tier in the USA, for the game.
Rangers Youth Blog on X noted at the time that the Ivorian starlet was arguably the best player on the pitch for the club in that clash with Monaco, but, for reasons unknown, the attacker did not sign a contract with the Gers.
It is unclear if Diomande opted against a move to Glasgow or if the club decided not to offer him a deal, although the latter seems unlikely if he did impress in the game against Monaco as Rangers Youth Blog suggested.
Either way, the Light Blues will now look back on their failure to bring him to the club as a mistake because he sealed a £17m move to RB Leipzig from Leganes this summer.
Appearances
10
Starts
6
xG
1.72
Goals
2
Key passes
14
Assists
1
Dribbles completed per game
2.3
Dribble success rate
62%
As you can see in the table above, Diomande caught the eye for Leganes with 1.4 key passes per game and 2.3 completed dribbles per game across ten appearances in LaLiga in the second half of last season.
After his trial with Rangers, the teenage talent went back to the DME academy in Florida and stayed there until his move to Leganes in January, which led to his impressive performances in the Spanish top-flight.
Diomande, who was described as an “athletic beast” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, then made the move to Leipzig for a fee of £17m this summer, which means that he is worth £7m more than Chermiti, who signed for Rangers in a £10m deal.
It also means that he is worth more than any current Gers player, excluding loanees, because no player in the squad is worth more than £10m, per Transfermarkt, and that is why the club will surely regret not landing his services back in 2023.
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Rangers must now hope that Chermiti is a big success at Ibrox because he can set the blueprint for other players to see that there is a pathway for young talent in Glasgow, a pathway that could convince the next Yan Diomande that a move to Ibrox is the best next step for them.