Barry Ferguson expects Amad Diallo to be in awe playing for Rangers v Ross County
Barry Ferguson is pleased to see Amad Diallo sign on loan for Rangers from Manchester United, but he has a warning for the attacker ahead of his potential debut.
The Ivory Coast-born sensation, 19, is expected to be thrown into action when Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men take on Ross County at Victoria Park on Saturday (29 January) after moving to Ibrox on Thursday, and Ferguson has told Go Radio he expects the youngster to be surprised at the reception from the opposition while playing at the ground.
Diallo joined the Red Devils from Atalanta, but he has not played a lot of senior team football, and that is expected to change at Rangers.
Ferguson said: “I think he’ll go straight into the team. Listen, you don’t sign someone with that amount of quality and he sits on the bench.
“So I would imagine Gio will start him and I bet my bottom dollar he’s not played at a place like Dingwall before, so he’ll be in for a shock!
“But what I like about Diallo is that he’s taken the opportunity to come up. That shows me he’s got a very good attitude. The boy wants to go out and play and show what he can do.
“He could have easily sat at Manchester United and be on the bench, coming on for ten or 15 minutes.”
Exciting
The Rangers loanee will be keen to impress on his debut, but playing away from home is never easy for the Scottish Premiership defending champions, so he should not expect a warm welcome.
Diallo has been sent to Ibrox for experience, and playing in front of hostile away fans is all part of it.
Given his huge talents and quality, he is expected to hit the ground running, and fans cannot wait to see what he is made of.
He will be keen to make an instant impression, and Man Utd will be keeping an eye on him.
GvB expects Diallo to help boost his side’s chances of retaining the title and winning the Scottish Cup, and it will be interesting to see how he fares.
Rangers have brought in a perfect short-term replacement for the injured Ianis Hagi, and while they do not have a chance to sign him permanently, landing him on loan remains huge.
Making his debut for the Bears does not come better than doing it against Ross County, and the youngster will be shown exactly what to expect from Premiership opponents.
In other Rangers news, the BBC are facing a multi-million-pound defamation action over Gers documentary.