‘I’m pretty confident’ – Manager shares transfer update on forward reportedly wanted by Rangers
Airdrie manager Ian Murray is “pretty confident” that Thomas Robert will stay put in Lanarkshire amid speculation linking him with Rangers.
Last month, the Scottish Sun reported that the Gers, Celtic, Dundee United, Hibernian, Hearts and “several English clubs” were keeping close tabs on the 20-year-old winger, who’s been in impressive form at Airdrie this season.
Robert, son of ex-Newcastle player Laurent, joined Airdrie in the summer on a free transfer after his contract expired at Montpellier.
He’s hit the ground running in Scottish football, leading to speculation surrounding his future at the League One club.
However, Murray believes he’s not going anywhere this month.
“I’m pretty confident [he will stay],” said Murray, as quoted by the Scotsman.
“There’s a lot of publicity around Thomas, he’s done really well, but he’s only played about 12 or 13 games or something like that.”
Robert really has been in scintillating form at Airdrie this season.
The Paris-born 20-year-old has scored four goals and supplied two assists in 13 appearances across all competitions and according to stats by Wyscout, he’s averaged 7.69 dribbles per 90 minutes in League One, completing 44.4 per cent of them.
He’s also completed 31.6 per cent of his crosses playing mainly as a left-sided winger. However, Robert can also play on the right or as a centre-forward.
At the moment, Roberts is averaging 0.51 goals per 90 minutes even though his xG for the season is 0.09 per 90 minutes.
He’s doing a lot better than he should be in front of goal while his dribbling and crosses numbers show that he’s a winger who the Gers should definitely keep an eye on.
In other Rangers news, SFA senior figures are privately sceptical about the Gers’ latest behind-the-scenes plan.