Rangers Euro call suggests club made £2.5m mistake at end of transfer window: view
09/16/2024 03:00 PM
Injuries and Rangers have been so commonplace in recent seasons that the Ibrox support have become somewhat conditioned to them.
The Gers have suffered at the hands of poor fitness management, with several of the club's highest paid stars spending long-spells on the sidelines at crucial junctures of the season.
Philippe Clement has made it his mission to expel the Rangers injury curse and is making steady progress as the fixtures start to come thick and fast.
But yet another injury could have the Belgian manager ruing one of the club's most high-profile end of summer transfer decisions.
Rangers turned down chance to shift Rabbi Matondo
Heading into the final few days of the transfer window, Rangers still had plenty of work to conduct.
The Ibrox side were trying to ship out the likes of Ben Davies, Scott Wright and Todd Cantwell, whilst Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Nedim Bajrami eventually joined before the deadline.
Another name which Rangers could've shipped out, but chose to hold on to, was Welsh winger Rabbi Matondo.
The 24-year-old had loan offers from Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City chucked out by Rangers as Philippe Clement looked to finally access the talents of the former Manchester City youth.
But only days later did Rabbi Matondo put in a disastrous shift in the Old Firm derby, losing touch with Alistair Johnston for Celtic's opener and eventually going off injured.
It was a moment which brings into greater focus Rangers' summer transfer decision over the winger, especially since a deal for Southampton's Samuel Edozie collapsed at the final moment.
And not only because the on-pitch commitment of the £2.5m winger is under the microscope.
Welsh winger adds to Ibrox injury issues
Whilst many fans felt the ex-Schalke winger had ducked out of the Celtic Park cauldron, Matondo was forced to pull out of the Welsh international squad.
Things went from bad to worse for Rangers when the Ibrox side announced the club's Europa League squad.
With that decision an indication that Rabbi Matondo has a more long-term issue, Rangers manager Philippe Clement also named the winger alongside Ridvan Yilmaz and Danilo as a more long-term absentee.
Given Rangers had the chance to shift Matondo out the door in the summer, the decision to keep the winger around looks to have already backfired.
Not only is the injury-prone attacker now back on the treatment table, but the Gers are a winger down with the options in the position increasingly limited.
Kieran Dowell had to start at right-wing in the absence of Vaclav Cerny against Dundee United.
Matondo is a talented player but every single time he begins to get a run of games at Ibrox he breaks down again and it's the same old story this season as it has been the previous two.
Given the Europa League squad decision, it suggests it could be towards the end of the year before we see Rabbi Matondo back in the Rangers team.
If the Gers had farmed the winger out on loan to Norwich, perhaps Matondo would've been tearing it up in the English Championship.
But at least we'd have had an available option in his replacement as injury once again threatens to have a big impact on the Ibrox club's campaign.
