Glasgow Rangers looked a lot more solid in the heart of the pitch with a trio of Nicolas Raskin, Connor Barron and Mohamed Diomande deployed together against Olympiacos.
The former two sat at the base of the midfield, while Diomande was unleashed in a more advanced role, something that certainly suits his attributes.
Going forward, this should be the trio that Philippe Clement uses on a regular basis. They might not give the side many goals, but their strength as a unit will be vital heading into the next few weeks.
It isn’t just this trio who have been impressive recently, as Nedim Bajrami and Vaclav Cerny have both shone on their respective flanks.
Cerny has scored five and registered three assists in his previous six matches, including setting up Cyriel Dessers for the Light Blues equaliser on Thursday evening.
The signing of Bajrami has arguably been one of Clement’s finest pieces of transfer business during the summer, adding some much-needed dynamism in his attack.
Nedim Bajrami’s stats for Rangers this season
The Albanian joined from Italian side Sassuolo for a fee in the region of £3.4m as the summer window was entering its dying embers.
He scored for Albania against Italy at Euro 2024, taking just 23 seconds to open the scoring for his country, although they did go on to lose the tie.
A tally of just three goals and two assists was hardly spellbinding, but the attacking midfielder offers more than just goal contributions, that’s for sure.
Indeed, in Serie A last term, Bajrami ranked in the top 9% for crosses per 90 (5.36) while also ranking in the top 20% for goal-creating actions per 90 (0.41). Considering the quality of players operating in the Italian top flight last season, Bajrami’s stats across these metrics were impressive.
It has been in Europe where the Albanian has shone the brightest for the Ibrox side. Across four Europa League matches, the 25-year-old has created an impressive five big chances, averaged 2.8 key passes per game and succeeded with 3.3 dribbles per game – a success rate of 72% – which proves just how effective he has been on the continent.
Although his favoured position is through the middle as the number ten, due to injuries, Clement has utilised the former Sassuolo gem on the left flank. This positional swap has obviously been working wonders.
Goals
1
Assists
0
Big chances created
3
Key passes per game
1.3
Successful dribbles per game
2
Total shots per game
2.2
The more he plays, the better Bajrami will get, especially as he gets used to the rough and tumble nature of Scottish football. There is no doubt he will be a key asset for the Light Blues over the next few years.
He is one of the best players at Clement’s disposal right now. During the summer of 2023, however, the club had the chance to sign someone who is even better than the current Gers maestro – Malik Tillman.
Malik Tillman's record at Rangers
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst announced the loan signing of American starlet Malik Tillman in the summer of 2022, and it wouldn’t take long for him to make his mark.
Against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League qualifiers, the youngster set up Antonio Colak to score the winner in Eindhoven, which sent the Light Blues through to the money-spinning group stages for the first time in 12 years.
Across 40 matches for Rangers, Tillman scored 12 goals while chipping in with five assists, not a bad tally for someone who was a player in his maiden campaign at senior level. At times, he was raw, but it was evident just how talented the American was.
John Lundstram even lavished praise on the youngster following a game against Aberdeen, saying: “Tell him how good he can be and how good he is. Because he’s phenomenal, his talent is up there with one of the best young talents I’ve seen. Stick with him, rather than saying he needs to be dropped if he has one bad game.”
As part of his loan contract, the Gers had an option to buy the player for around £5m following the end of the 2022/23 campaign, but this agreement was cancelled by the Bavarian giants amid his excellent season.
Perhaps the Gers could have activated this clause earlier on in the season rather than wait until the end. Bayern knew they would be able to generate a bigger price from elsewhere, hence why the deal was cancelled.
In the end, Tillman joined PSV that summer on an initial loan deal, before signing permanently for a £12m fee back in May, a figure that Rangers simply wouldn’t have been able to afford.
Malik Tillman’s value has skyrocketed since joining PSV
Failing to sign the American has proven to be a big mistake by the Light Blues as Tillman is finally fulfilling his wonderful potential.
Since moving to the Netherlands, he has scored 15 goals and grabbed 19 assists in all competitions. In their recent Champions League tie against Girona, Tillman scored once and registered two assists, showing he is comfortable at this level.
In Europe’s premier club competition, Tillman has averaged 2.8 key passes, created one big chance and succeeded with 70% of his dribble attempts. These statistics show just how effective he has been for PSV in Europe this term as they seek progression into the knockout stages.
These displays have seen his value skyrocket too. Indeed, according to Transfermarkt, Tillman is now valued at €25m (£20.7m) and this will certainly increase as time goes by if he maintains his level of performance.
Imagine if Rangers had bitten the bullet and splashed £5m on him a couple of years ago? While there are no guarantees in football, there was no doubt they could have made a substantial profit on him after just a couple of years.
The “dynamic” star – as hailed by analyst Ben Mattinson – is producing excellent numbers in the Netherlands, and he could find himself in a top five league sooner rather than later.
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