With just one more day left in April, Glasgow Rangers are still waiting for January signing Ryan Naderi to make a real breakthrough, but the German striker has yet to really hit his stride at Ibrox in recent months.
The 22-year-old, who was signed on deadline day in a £4.7m deal, has only scored twice for the Light Blues since then, neither of which came in the Premiership, but he has just picked up his first assist after teeing up Mikey Moore in the 4-1 win last time out.
The former Hansa Rostock man, who operates as a second striker or number 10 behind Youssef Cermiti, has struggled to form a real connection with the Portuguese marksman, despite Gyor remaining firmly in the title contenders.
Naderi’s premiership start | |
|---|---|
Statistics (*per game) | record |
Game (start) | 7(4) |
the goal | 0 |
missed a big opportunity | 4 |
assist | 1 |
A big opportunity has arisen | 0 |
Total number of shots* | 1.7 |
Pass accuracy* | 70% |
Key pass* | 0.6 |
Dribbling success* | 0.1 |
Total Win Duels* | 32% |
Manager Danny Rohr’s deployment of two centre-forwards, with Naderi acting as a link man, has not yet necessarily paid off, and the addition of a more natural playmaker or midfield box crusher is a potential solution to shore up the club’s under-performing front line.
Rangers approach signing £9m midfielder
As for Rangers’ overall midfield search, there are reports that the Glasgow side remain options for deep option Silas Andersen, with the BK Hacken starlet also attracting interest from the likes of Celtic and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
However, there were claims that Rolle and others had been in the race during the winter period, suggesting that Wolves were probably the ones who missed out on the chance in January.
However, another January target could emerge as a more likely option in the summer, with Tromsø’s Jens Hjert-Dahl thought to be a target for Gers again.
Italian outlet Il Resto del Carlino has reported that Rangers are believed to have made an approach ahead of a possible move for the Norway Under-21 international, with Bologna and Celtic also in their sights.
As with Andersen, the 20-year-old will not come cheap for any suitor, with the Norwegian side likely to demand a fee of around €10m (£9m) or €8m (£7m).
Rangers are said to be still in the hunt for a contract as the race to land such a highly rated and in-demand talent continues.
Why Gjert-Dahl could instantly upgrade Naderi
If Gers are looking for a holding midfielder, the aforementioned Andersen should be that player. The Scandinavian starlet can also play as a centre-back and is a monster in front of the back four.
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Rangers will need further midfield reinforcements this summer, especially if Ruskin leaves.
In the case of Gjert Dahl, the Tromsø “sensation” hailed by journalist Pete O’Rourke can also play as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder, but his talents could be better utilized in an advanced role.
If they operate in a line-up like 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-2-2, there is no reason why Naderi, who recently started the new Norwegian league season with a hat-trick against Fredrikstad, could not be used in that number 10 or second striker role.
In the 4-0 win, Heltdahl acted as a box-crushing option on the left side of the midfield three, and was an attacking threat, taking a total of seven shots, completing 100% of his dribbles, and carrying a total of 17 times.
A desire to move forward could very well ensure that the player, who has scored 24 goals and assisted in 89 games for his current team so far, functions as a direct replacement for Naderi rather than part of a midfield two.
Likening former Lazio talisman Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, another tall midfielder who regularly played in a more advanced role, the 6ft 3in sensation could add a different dimension to Rohr’s midfield and forward line, providing a real link between the two divisions.
Current evidence suggests that Naderi has not been fully able to perform in the same link role, and his record for one goal involvement in the Premiership has come in a total of seven appearances, only four of which came from the start.
Creatively, the German has also proven to be underpowered, averaging just 0.6 key passes per game and never creating any ‘big chances’, and perhaps there is a sense that he and Celmiti are too similar to work well together.
Meanwhile, Helty-Dahl is an astute creator and goalscorer, creating five “big chances” in the 2025 Eliteserien season and averaging one key pass per game in 30 appearances.
As well as the potential size of the price tag, the youngster arguably presents more exciting talent than Naderi, making this deal certainly worth pursuing for Rohr.
Rangers are already in contract talks with a new striker who could deploy Miovski.
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