Glasgow Rangers got back to winning ways in the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon by sweeping St. Johnstone away with a 4-0 victory.
Summer signing Kevin Kelsy, who joined from the Portland Timbers for £9m, scored two of the team’s four goals in the win, making it four goals in seven matches since he arrived in Glasgow.
It already looks like the Gers have hit gold with the likes of Kelsy, Min-su Kim, and Badredine Bouanani, as they are emerging as key members of Derek McInnes’ side.
The Light Blues have not always had the best of luck or judgement in the transfer market in recent years, though, and Andreas Skov Olsen is a recent example of their failures in that department.
Why Andreas Skov Olsen was a flop at Rangers
Rangers got supporters excited during the January transfer window when they secured the signing of the Denmark international on loan from Wolfsburg, as he had previously racked up 16 or more goal contributions in four successive seasons.
The left-footed attacker looked primed to make a big impact at Ibrox on the right flank with his ability to score and assist goals on a regular basis, but that is not how it played out.
Skov Olsen struggled to deal with the intensity and physicality of the Premiership, due to his lack of natural athleticism and speed, which meant that he could not deliver regularly in front of goal.
25/26 Premiership | Andreas Skov Olsen |
|---|---|
Appearances | 9 |
Starts | 7 |
Unused substitute | 6 |
xG | 1.14 |
Goals | 1 |
xA | 2.29 |
Assists | 2 |
Duel success rate | 36% |
The Dane lost 64% of hsi duels in the division, as opposition players found it too easy to get the better of him, and his only goal in nine appearances in the league came in a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock.
Skov Olsen was an unused substitute six times in the league, including five of the last six games of the season, which shows that he totally fell out of favour under Danny Rohl by the end of his time at Ibrox.
No one is talking about the new Skov Olsen at Rangers
In the present day, there is now a player in McInnes’ first-team squad at Rangers who is starting to look like the club’s new version of the Danish winger, and no one seems to be talking about it.
After James Tavernier left Ibrox after ten years of service earlier in the summer, Rangers knew that they needed to bolster their ranks in the right-back position.
The Gers decided to swoop to sign Kosta Nedeljkovic on loan from Premier League side Aston Villa to compete for the starting berth in that role.
He arrived at Ibrox with an impressive pedigree for a 20-year-old, as the defender has already been capped 14 times by Serbia, and he has played in the Premier League, the Bundesliga, and the Champions League.
The Serbian full-back was an exciting addition to the squad because of the experience and pedigree that he arrived with, as was the case when Skov Olsen joined in January.
Like the Danish flop, though, Nedeljkovic has failed to nail down a place in McInnes’ team and already looks like he is a bit-part player at best for the Light Blues.
Nedeljkovic in the 2026/27 Premiership | |
|---|---|
Opposition | Minutes |
St. Johnstone | Unused substitute |
Dundee | Unused substitute |
Kilmarnock | 45 |
Celtic | Not in squad |
St Mirren | Not in squad |
Motherwell | Not in squad |
Falkirk | 59 |
Aberdeen | 18 |
Since joining Rangers, the Serbia international has been an unused substitute on two occasions and failed to make the matchday squad three times, whilst only starting one game.
The Villa loanee was an unused substitute for the 4-0 win over St. Johnstone on Saturday, as McInnes opted to bring central defender Ben Godfrey on at right-back instead of using his natural option in that position.
In the one game that he started this season, against Falkirk, Nedeljkovic attempted to intercept a cross into the box and diverted the ball into his own net, whilst he also committed two fouls and was dribbled past once in 59 minutes of action.
The young defender does not look suited to the intensity and physicality of Scottish football, just as Skov Olsen did not, and is quickly starting to look like he is already surplus to requirements at Ibrox, given his lack of game time.
Rangers have won eight of their last nine matches, keeping six clean sheets, and their sublime form has meant that Nedeljkovic’s struggles have gone under the radar and no one is really speaking about him.
By the time that January comes around, the Gers or Aston Villa may have to terminate the loan so that he can go and play regular football elsewhere.
Source: www.footballfancast.com
