Tochi Chukwuani: What the statistics say about his first months at Rangers
Tochi Chukwuani needs to improve the physical side of his game as the stats show clear areas of weakness from his opening few months at Rangers.
Signed for a reported fee of £4.3million from Austrian outfit Sturm Graz in January, Chukwuani was the first of Rangers’ four new signings during the 2025-26 winter transfer window.
Having established himself as an important player for Sturm Graz and playing in both the Champions League and Europa League in the first half of last season, the Dane brought some top pedigree to Govan.
With 13 starts from his 15 Scottish Premiership outings after joining Gers, the 23-year-old quickly became a key part of Danny Rohl‘s starting lineup.
But, the young central midfielder still has some way to go before we can categorically say he’s been a transfer success story at Ibrox.
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Where does Tochi Chukwuani need to improve for Rangers?
Chukwuani has his Rangers doubters, with inconsistent performances lining his first few months at Ibrox.
The Danish youth international particularly struggled, as did many others, to perform to his best during the post-split fixtures.
| Tochi Chukwuani fact file | Result |
| Full name | Tochi Phil Chukwuani |
| Date of birth | 24 March, 2003 |
| Place of birth | Herlev, Denmark |
| Height | 6’2″/1.87m |
| First team he joined | B1973 Herlev |
Indeed, he was hooked at half-time against Motherwell, and only played 10 and 26 minutes against Hibernian and Falkirk respectively.
Perhaps the biggest area of weakness in Chukwuani’s game is in the physical department, as exemplified by his underlying numbers.
As per FotMob, he won just 41 per cent of his aerial duels in the Scottish Premiership this past season, which ranked him in the bottom 37.7 percentile of defensive midfielders in the division.
He also made 3.96 recoveries per game, which placed him in the bottom 22.1 percentile and made 4.05 defensive contributions per match, which put him in the bottom 27.3 percentile of his positional peers.
Chukwuani’s 53.4 per cent ground duels won was only slightly above average, as were his 2.29 tackles won per match and his 1.41 fouls committed.
Rangers clearly lacked bit and physical presence in the final weeks of the season, and Chukwuani wasn’t the exception in this regard unfortunately, as shown by the fact he didn’t pick up a single yellow card.
If he is to become a top defensive midfielder in the Scottish Premiership, getting more involved in the nasty side of the game and adding more steeliness to his performances is going to be hugely important.
What did Chukwuani do well for Rangers in 2025-26?
Chukwuani did certainly flash his ability at times though this past season, and is clearly a talented player with plenty of room left to grown in Glasgow.
His 0.18 goals per game ranked him in the top 13 percentile of defensive midfielders in the Scottish Premiership last term, whilst also being dispossessed just 0.53 times per 90 on average.
The Dane appears to have a penchant for winning fouls too, with his 1.94 won per game being among the top 10.4 percentile of his positional rivals in the division.
Whilst not outstanding, his 83.8 per cent pass success rate was also comfortably above average for his position, and he should continue to improve in this department too.
Overall then, the jury is still out on Chukwuani’s signing, as he does have the tools to become a top defensive midfield player in the Scottish Premiership, but needs to add more physicality and energy to his game if that’s to happen.
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