Rangers to surely land Malik Tillman on permanent deal amid £5million Ibrox development
Rangers have announced the termination of James Sands’ loan move from New York City FC – and that could open the door for Malik Tillman’s move to be made permanent.
Sands, 22, has been a bit-part player under Michael Beale and the decision has been taken to cut his two-year loan spell short ahead of the new MLS campaign.
American journalist Tom Bogert suggested (via Twitter, 27 June) the Gers had the option to make Sands’ move permanent in the summer for £5million. That is now money which can be invested elsewhere by the board.
Tillman is a player the fanbase would like to see in a Rangers jersey come the start of the 2023/24 campaign and BILD journalist Christian Falk claimed the Gers have the option to buy the 20-year-old for £6.2million in the summer (Fabrizio Romano’s Substack for Caught Offside, 17 February). However, there has been no indication from the club to suggest they will stump up.
The £5million saved from Sands’ cancelled loan move will surely see Ross Wilson at least contemplate a permanent move for the American. He’s easily been the Light Blues’ standout summer signing and the sporting director would earn credit amongst the fan base if he did look to land him in the summer.
There’s no doubting Tillman’s talent and The Atheltic’s Rangers’ correspondent, Jordan Campbell, has claimed he would be a “major coup” if he did sign in the summer.
A larger squad overhaul is desperately required and the League Cup final defeat to Celtic demonstrated this. There are far too many players who are past their best and need replacing.
There will certainly be an expectation from the fan base for one or two decent-sized transfer fees to be dished out in the summer and the 20-year-old should be one of them.
In other Rangers news, a pundit has ripped into Gers fans after what they did in the Viaplay Cup final v Celtic.