Rangers have inescapable Tawanda Maswanhise sub-plot that could come to life vs Motherwell
The football scriptwriters have cooked up a fascinating angle for Rangers’ meeting with Motherwell on Wednesday night.
Tawanda Maswanhise was a player heavily linked with a move to Rangers in the winter transfer window, but nothing materialised from that reported interest.
Having fired home 13 times in 21 games this season, the 23-year-old striker is one of Scottish football’s big breakout stars of the campaign so far, and may not remain a Motherwell player for long.
But, he is set to line up against Rangers at Fir Park on 11 February, in what has all the makings of a classic Scottish Premiership game under the lights; one that could have major ramifications in the title race.
Tawanda Maswanhise is surely bound to have Rangers blinder?
There aren’t many guarantees in football, but a player facing off against the team that could’ve potentially signed them and putting in a top performance is one of the closest scenarios to a sure thing you can get.
As such, it could be a long evening for Rangers’ defenders, as Maswanhise may well be out to prove a point to the Gers, and possibly even put himself in the shop window to them ahead of the summer.
He’s in sparkling form too, having scored in four-straight Premiership games coming into Wednesday night, with a brace in Motherwell’s last match against Livingston on 31 January.
There is a world where Maswanhise finds the pressure of living up to his tailor-made storyline for this match, but you’d be a brave soul to bet on that.
As such, Wednesday’s clash does have a feeling of inevitability that the Zimbabwe international will put in a stylish performance, and it will be a fascinating watch to see how Rangers cope with him.
Rangers could have Maswanhise trump card to play
So, whilst Rangers may not have signed Maswanhise this winter, they did eventually get a striker through the Ibrox doors: Ryan Naderi.
Indeed, the Gers decided to cough up the cash in the final hours of the window to secure his signature now, as they did have a verbal agreement with Hansa Rostock to complete the transfer in the summer.
And in his first full debut for Rangers against Queen’s Park on Sunday in the Scottish Cup, Naderi bagged his first two Gers goals in an 8-0 demolition of the Championship’s bottom side.
So, the 22-year-old could now be in line to make his full Premiership debut on Wednesday night, as Rohl could look to show Maswanhise that they aren’t missing acquiring his services.