Glasgow Rangers are unbeaten in their last eight matches in all competitions and went on a seven-game winning run before their draw with Dundee last time out.
The Light Blues were held to a 2-2 draw at Dens Park in the Scottish Premiership last weekend, which has allowed their Glasgow rivals to move four points clear at the top of the table.
Derek McInnes’ side came from 1-0 down to take the lead through stunning goals from Badredine Bouanani and Nicolas Raskin either side of the break.
Unfortunately, though, captain Dan Neil made an incredibly costly error when he messed up a back pass that allowed Callum Jones to run clean through and score.
How Rangers have hit the jackpot with their midfield
Despite that error from the skipper against Dundee, Rangers have hit the jackpot with their midfield mix this season with Raskin and Neil in the double pivot.
That pairing gives McInnes two players who offer mobility, technical quality, and good decision-making on the ball in the middle of the park, which helps the team to control matches and attack effectively.
It did not work out against Dundee, as Neil made that big error, but it did play a part in the Gers winning their previous seven games in all competitions, keeping five clean sheets in that time.
26/27 Premiership | Neil | Raskin |
|---|---|---|
Appearances | 7 | 7 |
Pass accuracy | 85% | 87% |
Tackles per game | 2.3 | 1.4 |
Interceptions per game | 1.1 | 0.4 |
Duel success rate | 51% | 48% |
Assists | 1 | 0 |
Both players have completed at least 85% of their attempted passes and averaged 1.8 tackles and interceptions per game across seven appearances in the Premiership this season.
The Gers, therefore, have hit the jackpot by ensuring that they have enough technical quality and mobility in their midfield, which may have also ended the Ibrox career of one of their midfielders.
3/10 Rangers flop must never start again
One of the players signed by previous head coach Danny Rohl already looks like he is surplus to requirements after a few months of the 2026/27 campaign.
In the January transfer window at the start of the year, Rangers swooped to sign defensive midfielder Tochi Chukwuani from Sturm Graz for a fee of £4.3m.
The Denmark U21 international started 13 of his 15 league appearances in the second-half of last season under the German boss, completing 84% of his attempted passes and winning 53% of his duels.
Whilst he was not an outstanding performer in those 15 matches, the 23-year-old talent looked solid enough as a number six for the former Sheffield Wednesday coach.
This season, though, Chukwuani has looked a shadow of even the solid version of himself that he showed last term, as he has struggled to adapt to McInnes’ way of playing.
In the two Conference League qualifiers against Jablonec, the Dane started twice and lost five of his eight ground duels, failing to make a single tackle in 210 minutes of football in midfield.
26/27 Premiership | Tochi Chukwuani |
|---|---|
Appearances | 4 |
Pass accuracy | 75% |
Tackles | 0 |
Interceptions | 1 |
Duels won | 4 |
Ground duel success rate | 25% |
Aerial duel success rate | 43% |
In the Premiership, meanwhile, Chukwuani has only played four matches off the bench and has failed to show enough quality in or out of possession in the middle of the park.
He has lost 75% of his ground duels, showing a lack of mobility, and has been too wasteful with the ball at his feet for the Gers, completing 75% of his passes.
Chukwuani only played two minutes off the bench in the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox and was an unused substitute for the seventh time this season in all competitions against Dundee last weekend.
It is hard to look past the Danish midfielder being anything other than a 3/10 signing by the club because he has been in Glasgow for less than a year and already looks surplus to requirements.
Rangers spent £4.3m on his signature and have paid his wages for the past ten months or so, which means that they have wasted more than £4.3m on a player who does not look good enough to start games for the club.
Chukwuani does not have the technical quality or mobility that Raskin and Neil offer in midfield, which may be why he has struggled for minutes under McInnes, and that is why he should never start again.
The Dane should be moved on in January, if there is a team willing to take him away from Ibrox, and he may go down as one of the club’s most expensive midfield flops in recent history.
Source: www.footballfancast.com
