Rabbi Matondo likely to leave Rangers this summer, return to Belgium mooted
Rangers are likely to allow Rabbi Matondo to leave the club this summer either on loan or permanently, according to Joshua Barrie.
Gers signed the Wales international from Schalke in a deal worth around £2m last summer, but he has made just seven starts in all competitions this season.
With Michael Beale expected to oversee a rebuild of the squad at Ibrox this summer, it’s believed that Matondo will be allowed to leave with a return to Belgium mentioned as a potential destination.
“Matondo genuinely impressed in pre-season against West Ham but hasn’t been at the races as a Rangers player since,” he wrote in response to a Q&A on Rangers Review (10 April).
“You’d have to imagine that he will spend next season out on loan or, if he can be shifted on a permanent deal, sold. He was good in Belgium last year so there may be takers in that league.
“You’re always wary of players whose main asset is searing pace signing for Rangers. So often, it’s just not worked because opponents sit deep and leave little space to exploit. My hunch is that Matondo isn’t going to be part of the club’s long-term plans.”
Waste
Rangers brought in a lot of players last summer under Giovanni van Bronckhorst and a lot of the deals looked like gambles at the time.
Almost a year on now and it’s fair to say that the majority of those gambles have not paid off, so it’s no surprise that Beale could look to cut his losses.
Matondo has been poor, John Souttar and Ridvan Yilmaz have hardly played due to injuries and non-selection, Tom Lawrence was great prior to his season-ending injury but has missed most of the season and Antonio Colak is yet to convince despite his goals.
If the 22-year-old receives an offer to go elsewhere all parties would be crazy not to look into it, because Rangers could likely do with the extra budget and space in the squad and the player himself would prefer to go and play regularly.
It would also not be a surprise though if nobody came in for him, because he’s not shown anything in his time at Ibrox to suggest he is a player capable of playing at the highest level.
In other Rangers news, an official club partner has responded to news of an official transfer approach in the last 24 hours.