Fashion Sakala proves Rangers boss Michael Beale was wrong to sell him after sensational Saudi form
Fashion Sakala is proving that Michael Beale made the wrong decision to sell him at Rangers following his form for Al-Fayha.
The Zambian international joined the Saudi side on 8 August in a deal believed to be worth about £4million as the Gers boss looked to revamp his squad over the summer.
But with the Light Blues struggling in the final third, the 26-year-old’s sensational performances in the Saudi Pro League so far are proving it may have been the wrong decision to move him on.
The Gers signed Sakala from KV Oostende on a free transfer in 2021 on the back of an impressive three years with the Belgian side.
Many fans were disappointed to see him move on after he put in a number of excellent performances during his two-year stint at Ibrox.
The forward had a decent record last season after scoring 12 goals and laying on eight assists in 41 appearances, with several of those outings coming off the bench.
But it just felt as though Beale wasn’t entirely convinced by him as he looked to bring in different types of attackers, meaning his minutes were likely to be heavily reduced this season if he had remained in Glasgow.
On the back of a string of summer signings, the Light Blues manager was forced to balance the books, so anyone who wasn’t necessarily going to be a starter was probably available if the right offer was put on the table.
And unfortunately for Sakala, that was a bracket that he fell into after Al-Fayha put £4million on the table to tempt the Gers into sanctioning his exit.
After the club didn’t pay a penny for him, the £4million looked like good business on paper, but it meant the new signings simply had to pay off.
Although it’s still early days for a number of those players, several of them – including new forwards Cyriel Dessers and Danilo – have struggled to make too much of an impact.
Rangers were hammered by PSV in the Champions League qualifiers before they were severely lacking in quality in the 1-0 defeat to Celtic at Ibrox.
While the Zambian wasn’t always the most technical player, he did offer something different and he had a trick up his sleeve to unlock defences – something the side is currently missing.
The forward has adapted very quickly to life in the Saudi Pro League after scoring three goals and laying on one assist in his opening five games for the club [SofaScore].
While there has been a lot talked about the standard of the Middle Eastern league, those stats are impressive at any level for a wide player.
Sakala has earned a 7.4 rating on average during his first five appearances, having taken 4.2 shots a game, 1.4 of which have been on target for a goal conversion rate of 14 per cent.
The attacker has averaged 44.8 touches after playing every single minute of those matches and he has recorded a pass accuracy of 79 per cent.
He has completed 3.8 dribbles a game – including eight in his latest outing against Al-Raed – for an impressive 79 per cent success rate.
The forward has also done a job defensively for his side, making 2.8 ball recoveries per game to go alongside one clearance and 0.8 tackles, while he has won 54 per cent of the ground duels he has been involved in.
There were some question marks at the time around whether letting Sakala go was the best option and, following his form and the Gers’ recent results in big games, many will probably now believe it was a mistake by the Light Blues manager.
In other Rangers news, Chris Jack has already shared an exit development about one new signing.