Malik Tillman not certain to agree to £5million Rangers move from Bayern Munich
There is “no certainty” that Malik Tillman would agree to make his loan move to Rangers a permanent arrangement, according to The Times.
The American arrived temporarily in the summer from Bayern Munich and there is a permanent option to keep him at the end of the season, although the German giants would then have their own buy-back clause [The Athletic, 25 January].
The cost would be around £5million, and manager Michael Beale has made clear that he wants the 20-year-old to remain at Ibrox, but the same intention is not yet confirmed on the player’s side.
The Times report following the 2-1 win over Ross County at the weekend states: “Michael Beale, the Rangers manager, has made no secret of his desire to keep the 20-year-old who made six appearances for Bayern Munich last season.
“He called it a “no-brainer” the other day, but it would cost his club around £5 million and there is no certainty as yet that the player would agree.”
Make it happen
Tillman was key to the uninspiring victory on Saturday (4 February), coming on early for the injured John Lundstram and looking like the best player on the pitch.
It is not a huge leap to suggest that without him the frustrating match would not have brought in another three points, since his opener was all Rangers could show for a first half of dominance, and his attacking quality shone through in a flat display.
Whatever Beale needs to do to convince the youngster to agree to a permanent move needs to be worked on from now, and based on his public stance the manager presumably is doing that.
He left the attacking midfielder out of the starting line up at the weekend, which could have proven a mistake were it not for the unfortunate Lundstram’s nightmare afternoon.
That Beale turned to Tillman off the bench rather than the like-for-like move to bring on Glen Kamara shows how much the Gers boss values him though, and considering the fees and targets that were being thrown about during the January window £5million to keep the loanee long-term is one that needs to be completed in the summer.
Seven goals and four assists this season, as a 20-year-old in a new league, is a decent return and as he grows in confidence his quality should shine through all the more, so the hope has to be that he is comfortable enough in Glasgow to extend his stay.
In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart claims the Light Blues must be looking to sign a star man from one SPFL rival.