Are Rangers heading in the right direction?
On Sunday, Danny Röhl’s perfect start to life in the Premiership continued, making it three league wins out of three, with goals from Nicolas Raskin, Mikey Moore and then Djeidi Gassama downing Dundee at Dens.
Despite this, the Gers remain fourth in the table, level on points with Hibs, five points below fierce rivals Celtic and a whopping 12 adrift surprise leaders Hearts.
Goals though remain a problem for this team, having bagged only 15 in 11 Premiership outings to date, netting just 31 times in 24 fixtures across all competitions, with Sunday only the fourth time they’ve scored three or more in a match, despite doing so on 21 occasions last season.
Strikers Danilo, Bojan Miovski and Youssef Chermiti continue to be, at best, inconsistent, but could Rangers’ youngster with “huge potential” solve this attacking issue?
Rangers' recent loan stars
While Rangers’ recent recruit has rightly come under scrutiny, with serious questions being asked of sporting director Kevin Thelwell, the club remain excellent in one particular area; identifying attackers on loan.
In the last four seasons, Rangers have signed a high-quality attacker on loan each time, as the table below documents.
52
18
9
39
16
2
43
12
5
13
3
Zero
As the table highlights, in each of the last four seasons, Rangers have brought in a high-class attacker on a season-long loan.
Amad is probably the outlier on this list, making little impact during his six months in Glasgow, albeit he’s since become a key figure for Rúben Amorim at Manchester United.
Since, Malik Tillman, Abdallah Sima and Václav Černý have all registered at least 17 combined goals and assists during one season at Ibrox, with the latter the most productive of the lot, starring during a season on loan from Wolfsburg, a major loss having joined Beşiktaş instead of returning this summer.
Now, could a current member of the Rangers squad keep the streak of outstanding attackers on loan going?
Rangers' latest loan star
Of course, the entire Rangers team has improved since Röhl replaced Russell Martin last month, an admittedly low bar, but the player who has thrived the most is Mikey Moore.
The teenager scored his first goal for the club at Dens on Sunday, doubling the Gers lead with this strike which flew into Jon McCracken’s bottom corner.
Even before opening his account, the Englishman had looked sharper since Röhl’s arrival in Glasgow.
Speaking during Sky Sports’ Coverage, Chris Sutton asserted that he is “flourishing” into his full potential under Röhl, while James McFadden notes that he is enjoying a lot more freedom with the German coach at the helm, forecasting that he will only continue to get better in the coming weeks.
When the 18-year-old arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in August, he did so with a massive reputation for someone who had only played 815 minutes at senior level.
Upon joining, then manager Martin praised his “huge potential”, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelled him “the English Neymar”.
Despite his slow start to life at Ibrox, only two Rangers players, namely Gassama and Thelo Aasgard, have registered more successful dribbles on a per 90 basis in the Premiership, early signs that he is ready to make a significant impact.
As already alluded to, scoring goals is one of this team’s primary issues.
Across all competitions, only captain James Tavernier, Gassama, Danilo and youngster Findlay Curtis have bagged more than two goals thus far, with that strike against Dundee the first of Moore’s campaign.
Thus, there is a spot up for grabs for the 18-year-old to take responsibility and become a truly integral figure in this team’s attack, following in the footsteps of Sima, Tillman and Černý, the other high-class loan attackers who have come before.
Move over Moore: Rangers star proved why he's their "best player" vs Dundee
Rangers demolished Dundee 3-0 at Dens on Sunday and Danny Röhl’s “sensational” star was as key as Mikey Moore in this Scottish Premiership victory.
ByBen Gray