Mixed emotions for Rangers as Malik Tillman transfer news emerges
Malik Tillman enjoyed a successful loan stint at Rangers last season, with the attacker scoring 12 goals from his 43 matches in all competitions.
He also chipped in with five assists while on a season-long loan from German giants Bayern Munich, which helped him win the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
The 21-year-old returned to his parent club in the summer, but he has now left them too, joining Dutch side PSV on a loan deal with an option to buy, as per their official website.
And it is a transfer that will result in mixed emotions at Ibrox, the first of which is perhaps negative given how the Gers could potentially play PSV in a fixture match in the coming weeks.
Should Michael Beale’s side overcome Servette in their Champions League third-round qualifier, and should PSV make it past Sturm Graz in their equivalent clash, the two clubs will face each other in the play-off round.
And that is a likely scenario, with both Rangers and PSV winning their first-leg ties, meaning a Tillman reunion is very much on the cards.
Having shone for the Gers last season, helping them clinch European football, the American could ironically have a say in ending their adventure right from the very beginning.
There is, however, a positive to his PSV deal, with the Daily Record (17 July) reporting that the Scottish club would be in line to receive compensation and a potential sell-on clause if Tillman left Bayern Munich this summer.
The 21-year-old could really go from hero to zero at Ibrox if he plays the villain if his new club and former club are brought together under the lights in Europe.
In other Rangers news, a journalist has mooted a “major sliding-doors moment” for the club’s upcoming Champions League clash against Servette.