By Anthony Onifade

16th Apr, 2023 | 5:10pm

Fashion Sakala puts in showstopping performance in Rangers 5-2 win v St Mirren, time for fans to move on from Ryan Kent

Rangers returned to winning ways at Ibrox as they clawed back the deficit to nine points in the Premiership title race after a 5-2 win over St Mirren on Saturday [15 April].

Despite twice going ahead and being pegged back, Michael Beale’s side came through eventual 5-2 victors at Ibrox, thanks to late goals from Alfredo Morelos (2) and Scott Arfied.

Rangers were made to work for the result with St Mirren causing some defensive mishaps from Michael Beale’s men, but the Gers held firm to eventually blow away their opponents.

The result means Michael Beale has only been on the wrong end of defeat twice during his spell as manager, both coming against Celtic, meaning there still remains a huge gap between the Light Blues and their fierce rivals.

Beale will certainly be looking to bridge that hole in what will be the club’s most important summer transfer window of recent memory as they look to revamp and reshape a bloated squad.

It’s a summer that could well see the Gers lose key stars also in Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos who are still yet to commit to their Ibrox futures.

However, the performance of one of their most exciting superstars will have certainly given fans food for thought on what life could be like without them and that was through Zambian international Fashion Sakala.

The 26-year-old has enjoyed great success under Beale having been frozen out of the starting XI earlier in the season by former boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Under the Englishman, Sakala has now bagged six goals and grabbed seven assists, and it’s no wonder he’s been previously dubbed as a “dangerman” by Rangers Review journalist Joshua Barrie.

A player very capable of becoming the club’s next MVP and he certainly proved that once again against St Mirren.

Sakala was deployed in a slightly unfamiliar left-wing role due to an unforeseen injury to Kent, although he has starred in this position before, most notably in a crucial win over Hibernian at the start of March.

The Zambian wizard scored the Gers’ second goal picking up an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.5/10 while registering three key passes and five shots in total, clearly demonstrating how much of an attacking threat he can pose even without Kent alongside him.

The winger was successful with four of his eight dribble attempts and took 43 touches throughout his stint on the pitch, and despite not starting a match for a few weeks, he showed no sign of sluggishness in his performance.

Beale certainly won’t be making that mistake again in the coming weeks, as he builds towards a pivotal summer. More crucially though, Rangers fans can now finally move on from Kent as they already possess a player capable of making more of an impact in the future. No pressure Sakala.

In other Rangers news, eight new signings are on the cards at Ibrox this summer with Wilson now gone.