It was a frustrating afternoon for Glasgow Rangers in the Premiership title race, but it was also a day of different fortunes for Danny Rolle’s attacking side, with two players deciding whether or not they would stay at Ibrox next season.
Starting with Mikey Moore, the teenage loanees were once again at the heart of Gers’ good side, scoring a crucial late equalizer on Sunday but also having a penalty at the death denied.
The 18-year-old is the most valuable player in the division and he has now proven why, with reports suggesting Rolle and others want him to extend his stay in Glasgow for next season.
It remains to be seen whether the Tottenham Hotspur-owned talent will stay, but the future of starting right-winger Andreas Skov-Olsen also remains an interesting topic of discussion, especially following the Dane’s early departure at the weekend.
See Skov Olsen’s performance against Livingston in numbers
After hitting a high with last weekend’s win over leaders Hearts, it was not the right time for Rangers to drop points, especially against bottom club Livingston.
Gers dominated against Marvin Bartley’s side, creating a total of seven “big chances” but only managed to score twice, with both goals coming after the hosts were reduced to 10 men.
Rohr’s team simply wasn’t clinical enough, and Skov Olsen, who replaced Bojan Miowski when the German shuffled the puck, was an early victim of first-half frustration.
Moore vs Skov Olsen – vs Livi | ||
|---|---|---|
status | moore | forest olsen |
minutes | 90 | 45 |
touch | 52 | twenty one |
Goal/Assist | 1 | 0 |
key pass | 5 | 3 |
Pass accuracy | 88% | 92% |
A big opportunity has arisen | 1 | 1 |
shot | 6 | 0 |
dribble | 0/2 | 0/0 |
ball lost | 12 | 6 |
carry | twenty three | 9 |
Whether it was the right decision or not is debatable, with the on-loan Wolfsburg man providing three important passes and attempting seven crosses in his opening 45 games, but taking just 21 touches and winning just one duel.
The former Club Brugge star provided an assist for Youssef Cermiti a week ago, but he was not at his best against Edinburgh and there is no doubt that Moore will be the main force for Rangers at the other end.
Patience will be needed for Skov Olsen, but it doesn’t bode well that Rolle decided to replace him so quickly on Sunday, but the 26-year-old still has just a few months left to prove he’s worth a huge permanent investment of £9 million.
Current evidence suggests that with Mr Roll boasting a potential homegrown solution at Ibrox, the Gers may be best placed to utilize these funds elsewhere.
Rangers could release veteran Mikey Moore soon
Paying more than £9 million for Skov Olsen seems like too much of a gamble at this point, and the club’s recent £8 million investment in Celmitie has yet to pay off, despite the Portuguese striker scoring five goals against Celtic and Hearts this season.
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Rather than relying on the Dane as the club’s long-term solution to the side, Rangers could instead use their own teenage sensation in the mold of Moore.
Indeed, all signs point to 19-year-old Findlay-Curtis having a fruitful future back at Ibrox, with the versatile wide man already impressing on loan at Kilmarnock.
The youngster, who has played on either flank this season as a No. 10 or as a right-back, was recently part of the Killie team that held Celtic to a close game at Rugby Park, having already picked up his first assist for the club against St Mirren a week ago.
Like Moore, who started in the middle but switched to the left last time out, Curtis is a hugely exciting and adaptable talent who had already shown glimpses of that quality during his time in Glasgow.
He has made 26 first-team appearances for the Light Blues so far this season, scoring three goals and providing three assists against Panathinaikos, St Mirren and Alloa.
Back in October, club legend Ally McCoist was among those to question the “bizarre” decision to bring in Moore and the impact it could have on young Curtis, with McCoist even suggesting there was “nothing between them”.
As recent weeks and months have shown since then, Curtis has shown more than enough at both Rangers and Kilmarnock to suggest he has a bright future at the top level, but it looks like it’s the Spurs product who will really take that step up.
It remains to be seen whether Moore will stay, but in the case of Skov Olsen, a permanent deal could be avoided if it means giving Curtis the opportunity to nail down the right wing.
Worse than Skov Olsen: Rohr has to take off Rangers star after losing the ball 31 times
Danny Rohr has to let this Rangers team go, which was even worse than Andreas Skov-Olsen.
