Sky Sports presenter Joe Thomlinson has been speaking on the Football Daily YouTube channel about new Rangers signing Amad Diallo.
The on-loan winger made an instant impact at his new club when he netted on his Rangers debut against Ross County, but that didn’t end well as they only took a point from the game.
Will Diallo flop at Rangers?
Yes!
No!
The next game up was the Old Firm derby, which may have been some culture shock to a teenager with just 207 first-team minutes under his belt before he arrived north of the border, and that showed as he mustered up one shot on the night and was hooked off at half time with his side 3-0 down.
And while praising the youngster’s move to Rangers as opposed to a switch to Derby County, Thomlinson had sympathy for the young winger, who he felt was very much overawed by the occasion and atmosphere.
“At least at Rangers – ok, it didn’t work against Celtic, because probably a little bit overawed, to be honest with you, this is a guy who’s played like 60-odd minutes of football for Manchester United this season.
“To then jump from under-23 games into the Old Firm is a big old jump, isn’t it, at that sort of stature, he’s not really grown into his man’s body yet.”
TIF Thoughts on Amad Diallo at Rangers…
Given that Diallo impressed during their draw against Ross County with a goal, it should show what he’s capable of, as no other game will see him tested like he was away to Celtic in what is one of Europe’s most intense derbies.
However, Giovanni van Bronckorst is clearly not just going to play the winger because of the club he’s on loan from, with the Gers boss handing Diallo just five minutes of football during their most recent victory against Hearts, however, it’s a good selection headache facing the Dutchman, with the likes of Diallo, Ryan Kent, Scott Arfield, Fashion Sakala and Kemar Roofe all vying for a starting role.
In other news: Board miss out on millions, Van Bronckhorst angry: Rangers will be kicking themselves – opinion