Youssef Chermiti likened to Peter Crouch as Rangers told how to get the best out of striker
Rangers star Youssef Chermiti has been likened to former England international Peter Crouch after his hat-trick against Hearts.
A few eyebrows were raised when Rangers forked out £8million to sign Chermiti from Everton last summer, especially as he had failed to score once in 25 appearances there.
For much of this season, the jury has been out on the 21-year-old at Ibrox; however, it is becoming clear that he is a big-match player.
The forward scored a brace in an Old Firm win over Celtic for Danny Rohl‘s side on 3 January, and then he backed that up with a crucial hat-trick over Hearts in a 4-2 victory on Sunday.
In light of those heroics, Everton’s former player development lead coach Dan Micciche has spoken about what Chermiti is like to work with and compared him to ex-Liverpool striker Crouch.
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Ex-Everton coach reveals secret to Youssef Chermiti’s success
Micciche worked with Portugal Under-21 international Chermiti following his switch from Sporting CP to Everton in the summer of 2023.
Although he stands tall, the former Arsenal and Tottenham coach, who left Everton last April, believes Chermiti is better with the ball at his feet.
He told the Daily Record: “The key with Youssef is to play to his strengths. If you look at a big lad like Peter Crouch when he played, even though he was tall, his strength wasn’t necessarily in the air.
“Youssef is the same. He’s good with the ball at his feet and can get on to things in behind. You can easily make him look like a bad player if you ask him to do things he’s not capable of. But the Rangers manager is clearly now getting the best out of him.”
As shown by the Sofascore graphic below, Chermiti had a blinder against Hearts. The question is, can he do it on a more regular basis?
Despite this praise, Chermiti has only scored seven goals and added two assists in 29 games for Rangers this season. Outside of his Celtic and Hearts heroics, there is precious little to cling on to.
But Micciche is convinced of his quality, saying he stacked up well with former Everton man and current Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin when it came to his attributes.
He added, “His numbers and data at Everton stacked up beside the likes of Calvert-Lewin. I thought it was a perfect match when Youssef went to Rangers. I was convinced he’d be successful there. He’s a young player who needs to feel loved, like we all do.”
Can Rangers come out on top in gripping Scottish Premiership title race?
With Celtic staging a dramatic comeback from two goals down to beat Kilmarnock 3-2 on Sunday, coupled with Rangers’ win over Hearts, the top three are closer together than ever before.
Hearts still hold a narrow two-point advantage over the Gers, with third-placed Celtic a point back, but Martin O’Neill’s team have a game in hand.
While Rangers and Hearts have a bit more time to recover from their epic clash at Ibrox, Celtic are in Europa League play-off action on Thursday at home to Stuttgart.
Before the next Old Firm clash on 1 March, Celtic play three times, whereas Rangers have just one game – an away trip to basement side Livingston on Sunday.
That fixture pile-up could hurt Celtic’s prospects, but if they can continue their positive form, they will fancy their chances away at Rangers in March.
This is all shaping up to be a brilliant finale in the Scottish Premiership, and the likes of Chermiti will have. a massive part to play in it.
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