The Glasgow Rangers officially kicked off their 2025/26 campaign by playing their first preseason friendly in front of supporters who will face Club Bruges and Ibrox on Sunday.
The Light Blues went 2-0 at halftime and were admitted twice in the opening 12 minutes, but the second half goals from Mohamed Diomande and Findry Curtis avoided a loss.
Russell Martin couldn’t choose some of the summer signatures, for example, as seen from bystanders.
The former Scotland International could see Emmanuel Fernandez and Max Aaron appearing on the pitch for the first time as the Scottish Giants tightened their preparations for a Champions League qualifying clash with the Panathinaikos.
Martin will hope to speed up Aasgaard as quickly as possible in the coming weeks.
Why Thelo Aasgaard is an exciting signature for rangers
GERS recently snapped the 23-year-old attacker on a four-year contract. I agreed to the reported £3.5 million fee and signed him from an English League One outfit.
Aasgaard left the Hatters just six months after signing the club from Wigan Athletics, as he was demoted from last season’s championship.
The Rangers used it to take him to Ibrox this summer, and they now hope he will play a key role on Martin’s pitch for years to come.
Some supporters may not want to hear this, but Aasgaard is similar in style to Todd Cantwell. He is another offensive midfielder and can also thrive as a roaming number 10, where he can carry the ball and dribble past players rather than stand out as a goalscoreser or creator.
24/25 Championship | Thelo aasgaard by 90 | Percentile Rank vs. Midfielder |
|---|---|---|
the goal | 0.12 | Top 24% |
Progressive Carry | 1.61 | Top 26% |
Take-on attempted | 2.74 | Top 12% |
A successful take-on | 1.31 | Top 9% |
Contact the Opposition Penalty Box | 2.62 | Top 14% |
The foul won | 1.96 | Top 11% |
Statistics via FBREF | ||
As you can see from the table above, the Liverpool-born midfielder thrives on the ball in the middle of the park, picks it up in a pocket of space, runs into a box, puts the player on, or wins a foul.
However, he only produced two goals and one assist on 17 championship outings for Luton, and Martin may be hoping he will improve his output in the final third at Ibrox.
However, his willingness to carry the ball and take players could make him an exciting sign for the club.
Rangers are paying attention to Premier League wingers
According to the Scottish Sun, the Rangers are one of the race clubs to secure a contract with Crystal Palace youth Jesslung Lak Sakiy this summer.
The report claims that Light Blues is “chasing” the move to sign the left-footed star who lent the 2024/25 campaign at Sheffield United in the championship.
It has been revealed that Palace is ready to request a fee of around £10 million to ensure that the appropriate wingers can travel from Selhurst Park before the end of the summer transfer period.
However, rangers would prefer to land talented young people on loans during the season rather than cash out to permanently sign a talented young loan, but they would be happy to make a permanent deal if the asking price was reduced.
It is still unclear at the moment whether the Scottish giant can convince the Eagles to grant the dynamos the loan. This could depend on whether other teams are ready to meet a £10 million valuation for a permanent transaction.
Why should rangers sign Yesrun Lak Sakiy?
Vaclav Cerny returned to Wolfsburg at the end of last season. After his loan spell at Ibrox ended, he drilled holes in his team into right wing positions.
This suggests that Rak-Sakyi could enter Start XI directly as Martin’s right winger to replace Czechia International, and his form for Sheffield United could have an immediate impact.
Aasgaard is his own exciting player due to his technical capabilities, but the Crystal Palace youngsters are even more exciting for the supporters. Because he also has the ability to provide goals and support to drive fans out of their seats.
The 22-year-old Wiz, who produced 15 goals and eight assists in Charlton’s League One in the 2022/23 campaign, finished with seven goals and two assists in the Blade’s 22 league start last season.
This shows that he is likely to have an impact in front of goals than Aasgaard of the Scottish Premiership next season, as Norway International managed two goals and one assist in the same division.
24/25 Championship | Jesurun rak-sakayi around 90 | Percentile Rank vs Winger |
|---|---|---|
xg | 0.32 | Top 13% |
the goal | 0.36 | Top 11% |
Target xg | 0.36 | Top 9% |
Shah | 0.18 | Top 22% |
assist | 0.10 | Bottom 47% |
The dribbling was successful | 2.44 | Top 7% |
Statistics via FOTMOB | ||
As you can see in the table above, Rak-Sakyi was highly ranked among his positional peers in many key offensive stats, except for assists who showed that his teammates disappointed him with his useless finish.
Once praised as “remarkable” by Roy Hodgson, the left footed star is a progression that can regularly pose a threat as both a scorer and a goal creator, while consistently taking on opposition defenders, as shown by a successful dribble of 2.44 per 90.
This suggests that Rak-Sakyi could be a very exciting player that Rangers supporters should see. Because he can combine exciting dribbling skills with high quality final products in the final third.
Aasgaard has the technical and dribbling ability to avoid pitches, but he needs to prove he can provide goals and support. So Palace Winger could be a better signature here and now Martin.
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