Rangers ended their season in style with a 5-2 victory over Falkirk, and manager Danny Rohl has offered a positive update regarding the future of Youssef Chermiti.
Although the striker didn’t have the best start to life at Ibrox, having a dry patch and drawing lots of criticism, he has been a star in recent weeks. He now ends the season with 15 goals and five assists in 30 Scottish Premiership matches, and he is a player whom the Gers will look to build around.
With his transfer value estimated at around €9 million according to Transfermarkt, there have been rumours that he could depart Ibrox in the summer. One club said to be interested is FC Porto in Portugal, but now, Rohl has confirmed he has had positive discussions with Chermiti about his future.
Speaking after Saturday’s victory, Rohl said:
No question [that Chermiti could be at Rangers next season]. I spoke to Youssef on the pitch. I also spoke to him about eight weeks ago, and we talked about goals.
Not just in big games, but the ones where he has to score. Youssef has quality, and he gives me a lot of hope that he’ll be here straight from the first day next season.
He’s needed a bit of time to settle in, but in the second half of the season, he’s done a great job. After a tough week with three games in a row, he’s still on the pitch trying to fight and run. This is what I saw in him from the beginning, and now we’ve added on some goals.
We need to keep a core. It’s important to continue with that, but also important to have fresh blood and energy with new players.
Despite Rohl clearly wanting to build around Chermiti, it is expected that Rangers will be funding their rebuild through the sale of players. The forward is already attracting interest, so could he be on his way out despite the manager being keen on keeping him?
Will Chermiti be at Rangers next season?
Rohl will be the man behind the rebuild
Rangers just lost four games in a row, including a humbling 3-1 loss to rivals Celtic, and that has had some supporters calling for Rohl’s head. However, despite the criticism, the owners of the club, the 49ers, are backing the manager going into the summer.
He reportedly held talks with the board last week, and he was assured that he will be allowed another summer at least. If he can get the correct players in and replace captain James Tavernier, who is leaving Rangers after 11 years in Glasgow, his side could enjoy a much better finish next campaign. That last thing they’ll want is to watch the Hoops lift the league title again.
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