Glasgow Rangers restored some pride when they avoided defeat to their city rivals in their last match in the Scottish Premiership last weekend.
The Light Blues had already had their second-placed finish confirmed, as Celtic won the league title at the end of last month, but they avoided their misery being compounded with a defeat.
Cyriel Dessers opened the scoring for the Gers in front of their home supporters with a composed finish before the break, but Adam Idah secured a point for the away side with a clever turn and finish inside the box in the second 45.
Whilst it was a decent point for the Light Blues, that result did extend Barry Ferguson’s winless run to six matches in all competitions, and he has won just four of his 12 games in charge so far.
There were some more positives to extract from the 1-1 draw with Celtic, though, including the performance of central midfielder Mohamed Diomande.
The Ivorian star assisted the goal from Dessers and won nine of his 12 duels throughout the game, as he showed that fans can be excited about what he could produce next season.
Why Rangers fans should be excited about Mohamed Diomande
The 2024/25 campaign has been the left-footed star’s first full season at Ibrox, having joined on a permanent deal last summer after his initial five-month loan, and he now has plenty of experience under his belt.
Diomande has played 70 matches in all competitions for the Light Blues to date, including 51 in the current campaign, and is now primed to kick on as a star for the club next term, having had 18 months of experience in Glasgow.
It did not take too long for the central midfielder to announce himself in Scottish football after his initial loan move from FC Nordsjælland, as he scored against St. Johnstone in February 2024.
His performances in that loan spell led to the club deciding to sign him on a permanent deal in the summer of 2024, with Philippe Clement in charge, and he has kicked on to become a key player in the current campaign.
Diomande showed potential as a goalscorer, as shown by his stunning strike against St. Johnstone, and as an all-action defender in his time on loan, but his creative quality has shone through this term.
Appearances
13
33
Goals
2
4
Big chances created
1
10
Assists
0
7
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.3
1.8
Ball recoveries per game
4.8
4.3
Duel success rate
52%
55%
As you can see in the table above, the left-footed star has created nine more ‘big chances’ and delivered seven more assists than he did in the second half of the 2023/24 campaign for the Light Blues.
Rangers fans should, therefore, be excited about what the £12k-per-week star could do next season, after 18 months of adjusting to Scottish football, as he has already shown plenty of signs of promise in the Premiership with his work in and out of possession.
Diomande provides great value for money, given that he is the 12th-highest earner at Ibrox, but that is not the case for every player in the squad. In fact, one of the players who should be sold by the 49ers this summer, Kieran Dowell, earns even more than the Ivorian.
Why Rangers should sell Kieran Dowell
The English attacking midfielder reportedly earns £16k-per-week, which is more than the likes of Diomande, Hamza Igamane, Jefte, and John Souttar, among others.
He has, however, not provided value for money for those wages because the former Norwich City man was deemed not good enough for the squad in January and was loaned out to English League One side Birmingham City.
Dowell enjoyed a successful second half of the season with the Blues, who won the League One title with a staggering 111 points, as he caught the eye with goals and assists.
The left-footed star ended the campaign with five goals, nine ‘big chances’ created, and four assists in 19 appearances in the third tier of English football, and is now set to return to Ibrox this summer.
Birmingham do not have an option to make the deal permanent but manager Chris Davies revealed that they will explore the possibility of a move to bring him back to England ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The 49ers, once the takeover is finalised, and sporting director Kevin Thelwell must take advantage of this interest from the Blues in order to ensure that Dowell never plays at Ibrox again.
He has one year left on his contract in Glasgow and this means that the upcoming summer transfer window would be the best time to cash in on the attacking midfielder if they are not planning to extend his contract beyond next year.
Dowell’s performances for Rangers since his move to Scotland on a free transfer from Norwich City in the summer of 2023 do not suggest that the 49ers should be aiming to extend his deal.
Appearances
12
12
Starts
5
2
Goals
2
0
Big chances created
1
4
Assists
2
0
Duel success rate
49%
46%
As you can see in the table above, the 27-year-old flop failed to nail down a place in the starting XI on a regular basis under Michael Beale or Clement, and only contributed two goals and two assists in 24 appearances in the Premiership.
His underperformance on the pitch for the Light Blues in his first 18 months at Ibrox led to him being loaned out in the January transfer window, which shows that he was deemed surplus to requirements at the start of the year.
Therefore, Dowell has not done enough to justify his £16k-per-week wages, particularly when the impressive Diomande earns even less than him in Glasgow, and that is one of the reasons why the 49ers must ruthlessly cash in on him this summer.
The Gers should attempt to extract a fee from Birmingham for the English dud and ensure that he does not play for Rangers at Ibrox ever again, because the midfielder has not done enough in a Light Blues shirt to suggest that he would be a key player for the next manager coming in.
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