Danny Rohl’s plan to offload Youssef Chermiti from Rangers has just become clearer
In a summer of disastrous dealings under Kevin Thelwell’s influence, Youssef Chermiti arguably tops the list of Rangers’ worst-ever signings.
Rangers shelled out an initial £8million to sign Chermiti from Everton in September, with Russell Martin seeing the 21-year-old as the perfect striker to fire them to the Scottish Premiership title.
Fast forward three months, and that couldn’t be further from the truth as Chermiti continues to struggle at Rangers after scoring just twice in 20 appearances across all competitions.
The Portugal under-21 international has failed to impress in every aspect of his game, and there is a possibility that Danny Rohl could offload him in the January transfer window.
Youssef Chermiti needs to play for Rangers to offload him
Ibrox News understands that Rangers could sanction a loan exit for Chermiti in January, and Portuguese giants Braga are one club who hold a long-standing interest in the striker.
To increase their chances of offloading the youngster on loan – or even permanently – the former Everton outcast needs to play regularly to avoid his price tag from plummeting, according to former Livingston midfielder Marvin Bartley.
“The club find themselves in a difficult situation because ultimately, you’ve paid £8-£10million for somebody to come into your football club, which is a hefty price in Scottish football,” Bartley told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard.
“The manager is probably thinking, in order for us to get him out he probably needs to play. If he is playing and misses a chance when he’s through on goal and falls over the ball, he’s going to cost you at some point as well.
“He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place because if he’s not playing for Rangers and the January window comes and they try to offload him on loan or permanently, his value is going to have dropped significantly.”
Bartley’s view arguably explains why Chermiti started Rangers 1-0 wins over Hibernian and Motherwell in two of the last three league matches.
What Danny Rohl has told Rangers strikers
It’s difficult to imagine a world where Rangers would recoup all of what they paid for Chermiti, as it would take a miraculous turnaround.
But to make matters worse, Bojan Miovski and Danilo have hardly shown the consistency required to lead the line, and before their win over Motherwell on December 27, Rohl sent a message to the Rangers strikers, urging one of them to grab the starting jersey permanently.
“The message to the players, especially to the centre forwards, is that I’m looking for a number nine who is always the starter. That’s the challenge,“ the German said.
“Three players have tried to be the number nine, and the following weeks now will show who is the number nine.”
Rangers need one of Chermiti, Miovski or Danilo to become clinical in the final third if they are to make a comeback in the title race.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account – @ibroxnews247