For Philippe Clement to achieve what he wants at Rangers, he has to find a No.9.
For how he wants to play and the style he’s trying to implement at Ibrox, the new manager needs a proper centre-forward. And right now, as I’ve said before in this column, Cyriel Dessers doesn’t look up to the task in hand. That was evident again with his performance against Sparta Prague on Thursday night.
So Clement must find another solution Let’s be honest, he has to find someone who can somehow try and replicate what Kyogo Furuhashi is doing on the other side of the city. And the one guy who looks like he might be capable is Danilo. Now, not for one minute am I comparing the Brazilian with Celtic’s Japanese forward.
That would be crazy because Kyogo has bagged 61 goals in just over two seasons at Parkhead – and he’s had spells out injured as well. He proved his worth to Brendan Rodgers again during the week by scoring again in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid. Danilo has miles to go before he can be mentioned in Kyogo’s company. But the bottom line is, Rangers shelled out £6million for him from Feyenoord in the summer. So Clement SHOULD be able to rely on him.
And I think Danilo has shown flashes – albeit, only flashes – of what he could eventually offer this Rangers team. Clement has to get him fully fit and firing, which he hasn’t been at any point since arriving in Glasgow. Very few of the pre-season Michael Beale signings have made a positive impact. But any time Danilo has played, there are signs that he could turn out to be what Clement is looking for.
He hasn’t started many games. But when he was given the chance against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park recently, he scored and looked the part. Unfortunately, he got injured and his progress was curtailed again. But crucially, he got his chance through the middle that day and that’s where he has to play now. That’s what Rangers signed him to be – a central striker.
When I look at Clement’s squad right now, my best front four would be Danilo up top, with Todd Cantwell, Tom Lawrence and Abdellah Sima in behind him. Along with Jack Butland, Sima has been the other major positive in terms of recruitment. He’s on an incredible run of scoring form and, in Prague, Clement asked him to do a job for the team that was probably foreign to him.
But you know what? He did it. He put a real shift in at left wing-back, while also trying to create going forward. Clement has found his best position, on the left of Rangers’ attack – and he’s thriving in it. Sima took a bit of time to settle down at Ibrox but he’s now one of the team’s key players.
It could be a similar story with Danilo. The new gaffer hasn’t been able to get those two, along with Cantwell and Lawrence, in the same team yet. But Danilo is gradually getting fit and when he came off the bench against Sparta in midweek – again, he offered something.
He hit the bar, showed good movement, got a few shots off – all things Dessers hadn’t done before being subbed. Listen, let’s not get carried away. I’m not saying Danilo is going to be the next Ally McCoist or Kris Boyd.
But I’ve seen genuine flashes that he could be a real positive for Clement moving forward. The Rangers fans need hope. And Danilo offers them a bit of that. With the transfer fee the club paid for him, they’re entitled to expect him to produce. He’s a good footballer, his record and career so far shows that.
If he gets up to full speed, he has the qualities and behaviours in his play to do the kind of job Kyogo does for Celtic. He’s got energy, movement, can score goals – and he’s willing to work. If Danilo can be that focal point for Rangers, where he presses teams hard and quick and threatens in behind – like Kyogo does – he can have a similar influence.
We’ve been saying for over a year now that Rangers need a player like that. Could Danilo be that guy? Could he have the same impact at Ibrox as Kyogo had two years ago? The Rangers fans will certainly hope so.
