Rangers in dark over Thomas Tuchel impact on potential £5million Ross Wilson ‘coup’ for Malik Tillman
Rangers want to sign Malik Tillman but do not yet know whether the arrival of Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich will change his intentions, The Times reports.
The American loanee has emerged as one of the attacking stars of the season at Ibrox, scoring both in the 2-0 win over Dundee United on Saturday (1 April), and has a permanent option in his deal of up to £5million.
Julian Nagelsmann was the manager who sanctioned the 20-year-old’s temporary departure but the young German coach was surprisingly sacked at the Allianz Arena on 24 March.
The installation of former Champions League-winning Chelsea boss Tuchel may have changed the landscape for any potential deal with the German giants, as Tillman’s perspective on the change is not yet clear.
The Times report notes: “It would be quite a coup for Rangers and their maligned sporting director Ross Wilson if they pulled this off.
“It would be startling because 20-year-old Bayern Munich and senior international players aren’t in the habit of signing for Rangers.”
Hopes
Of course the Light Blues are going to be very interested in keeping Tillman around as he has shown a great deal of quality already, and given his age may yet have a few levels still to grow.
Clearly he wasn’t in the immediate plans of Nagelsmann, but whether the American feels he has a fresh opportunity to impress the new man in charge may be the difference between him still being a Gers player next season or not.
It would make little sense for him to return to Germany to sit on the bench or in the stands when he can play regularly under Michael Beale.
But if he sees a pathway to the first team in the Bundesliga then even the most ardent Ibrox supporter would admit that it is hard to compete with that opportunity.
Nagelsmann may be the wunderkind of top level management but Tuchel’s reputation has only grown given the struggles at Stamford Bridge since his shock sacking on 7 September.
Wilson, Beale, and most of the Bears fanbase will be eagerly anticipating a signal from the young loanee over his intentions, but if the club can push through their exclusive option in the summer it would give the manager a strong building block for the future.
In other Rangers news, a development at Ibrox worth nearly £2million to the club has come out on Monday evening.