Glasgow Rangers play their first competitive game of the 2025/26 campaign on Tuesday night as they prepare for the first leg of their Champions League qualifier at Ibrox.
The Light Blues will be hoping to take an advantage back to Greece the following week in their bid to make the next stage of the qualifying process, as they look to qualify for the league phase of the competition.
Russell Martin may not have the perfect squad to choose from on Tuesday night, though, as new signing Thelo Aasgaard is a doubt through injury.
The Scottish head coach has also confirmed that fellow new signing Djeidi Gassama will not be fit to start the game because of a “disrupted” pre-season, but the Frenchman will be a part of the Rangers squad.
Gassama recently signed for the Scottish Premiership giants from English Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on a permanent deal, but supporters look set to have to wait to see him from the start.
That is a shame for Martin, Rangers, and the fans because his performances for the Owls in the 2024/25 campaign suggest that he is a very exciting player.
What Djeidi Gassama could bring to Rangers
On paper, supporters may look at Gassama’s numbers from last season and think that he is a goalscoring winger who does not create much for his teammates.
That is because he ended the campaign with a haul of seven goals and one assist in 43 outings in the Championship, which suggests that scoring goals is his biggest offensive attribute.
Whilst that may still be true, Gassama’s underlying numbers suggest that his teammates were the reason why he only had one assist to his name, rather than because of a lack of quality or creativity on his part.
xG
5.92
Top 16%
Goals
7
Top 14%
Shots on target
23
Top 14%
Chances created
38
Top 23%
xA
2.54
Top 32%
Assists
1
Bottom 27%
Touches in the opposition box
153
Top 6%
As you can see in the table above, his teammates only finished one of the 38 chances he created for them, and he underperformed his xA by almost two assists.
These statistics suggest that the 21-year-old starlet is a winger who will provide goals and creativity down the left flank, which is why he could be an exciting player for Rangers supporters to watch.
The Light Blues need a quality centre-forward to make the most of his creativity, though, and they are reportedly interested in a star who would fit the bill.
Rangers ready to pursue prolific forward
According to Football Insider, Rangers are eyeing up multiple experienced players to come in and improve the leadership within their dressing room this summer.
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The report claims that Leicester City centre-back Conor Coady and free agent centre-forward Luuk De Jong are both being lined up to be ‘huge figures’ in the dressing room next season.
It states that the Gers are ready to step up their pursuit of both players, as Martin looks to bolster the quality within his side, and De Jong is available as a free agent.
The Dutch centre-forward left PSV at the start of the month, after his contract with the Dutch team expired, and this means that the Light Blues could sign him for nothing this summer.
Rangers want to sign De Jong, as well as Coady, to bring leadership and experience to the squad, but the 34-year-old star would also bring quality and could be the perfect striker for Gassama.
Why Luuk De Jong would be perfect for Djeidi Gassama
The former Barcelona marksman would be the perfect centre-forward for Gassama for multiple reasons, not least because he is a prolific goalscorer.
De Jong scored at least 18 goals in each of the last three seasons for PSV, scoring 18 in the 2022/23 campaign, 38 in the 2023/24 season, and 18 last term, showing that he has not slowed down in front of goal despite his age.
This suggests that he has the goalscoring pedigree and knack for finding the back of the net to make the most of the creativity that Gassama has the potential to provide on the left flank.
De Jong could, therefore, be a dream number nine for the French winger because his goalscoring quality in the final third could result in the former Sheffield Wednesday man racking up way more than one assist next season.
As aforementioned, though, Gassama is also a winger who has the quality to provide goals on a fairly regular basis from the left flank, as shown by his seven-goal haul in the Championship last season.
De Jong would also be perfect for the ex-Paris Saint-Germain youngster in that respect because he is a number nine who has the ability to consistently create high-quality chances for his teammates.
Appearances
24
34
31
Goals
14
29
14
Chances created
20
67
55
xA
3.16
7.35
5.92
Assists
4
15
8
As you can see in the table above, the Dutchman racked up 23 assists in the last two Eredivisie seasons with PSV, which shows that he has the potential to provide Gassama with plenty of chances to find the back of the net.
Whereas, Dessers, for example, has only assisted six goals in 70 matches in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers in the last two seasons, since his move to the club from Cremonese in 2023.
De Jong, who was described as an “exemplary” professional by Xavi during his time at Barcelona, is a complete number nine who offers experience, goals, and assists.
This is why he could be the perfect signing for Rangers, as they look for quality and leadership, as well as being the perfect signing for Gassama, who would have a striker to finish the chances he creates as well as a forward who can create chances for him to score.
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