Keith Jackson left confused after Rangers win vs Hearts as Youssef Chermiti dilemma emerges
Keith Jackson can’t make sense of the William Hill Premiership after Rangers beat Hearts on Sunday.
The Daily Record journalist is confused with the state of football in Scotland this season, as Derek McInnes’ team dropped three points at Ibrox on 15 February.
Chermiti, who has come under heavy criticism from fans in Govan, scored a hat-trick and repaid Danny Rohl’s faith in the Light Blues’ 4-2 win on the day.
With the Portugal Under-21 international costing the Glaswegian outfit £8million from Everton last summer, it has now become hard to figure out whether the Gers got the better end of the deal.
Read More: Michael Stewart calls out Youssef Chermiti despite heroics vs Hearts
Youssef Chermiti could be Rangers game-changer after win vs Hearts
Marc Leonard broke the deadlock for Hearts in the 16th minute, but the Gers quickly equalised, with Chermiti playing a big role in the build-up to Michael Steinwender’s own goal.
Claudio Braga then turned the tide at Ibrox after restoring the Jam Tarts’ lead in the 30th minute, but the former Everton ace ensured the Light Blues were level going into the break.
The 21-year-old then gave the Glaswegian outfit the lead at around the hour mark before completing his hat-trick in the 90th minute to heat up the title race.
Writing in the Daily Record on 16 February, when asked where he stood on Chermiti, Jackson said, “Who knows? Scottish football has entered into some sort of twilight zone this season, where absolutely nothing seems to make any sense. Chermiti is either a liability and a waste of £8m or a potentially priceless game changer in the title race. Take your own pick.”
A lot of fans criticised Rohl before kick-off for starting the Portuguese centre-forward despite his struggles in the 1-1 draw with Motherwell, but he proved them wrong.
While it’s encouraging to see the young striker bag three goals against the league leaders, he surely has to continue his consistent goalscoring run to win over supporters.
Youssef Chermiti hat-trick spells bad news for one player at Ibrox
Chermiti seems to have secured a place in Rohl’s starting lineup for the upcoming matches with his heroics against Hearts.
The Portuguese attacker started alongside Ryan Naderi for Rangers and struck a decent partnership with the former Hansa Rostock star, as evident in the Sofascore graphic below.
It will now be tough for Bojan Miovski to make a case for himself under the German manager, with the North Macedonia international’s opportunities likely to diminish as the season enters its crunch period.
The ex-Aberdeen ace certainly has an uphill battle at the Glaswegian outfit if he wants to displace Chermit or Naderi from the number nine position.
For more in-depth analysis on the Gers, Football Insider has you covered with some exclusive content.