When Andreas Skov Olsen joined Rangers on the finish of the January switch window, he was considered as a blockbuster marquee signing who would ignite the membership’s title problem.
A participant with confirmed pedigree within the Champions League, in addition to 40 caps for the Danish nationwide crew, his arrival on mortgage from Wolfsburg was rightly hailed as a coup.
All of the extra so on condition that the Ibrox outfit would have an choice to purchase him for a charge of £8million in the summertime. On all fronts, it regarded like very sensible enterprise.
This could not be one other Abdallah Sima or Vaclav Cerny sort of deal, two wingers who excelled throughout mortgage spells over earlier seasons solely to waltz off to pastures new.
It seemed to be a no brainer that Rangers would in the end take up the Skov Olsen choice. And but, a month down the road, that doesn’t really feel fairly so sure any extra.
Placing it bluntly, he has not been hitting the heights that had been anticipated of him. Proper now, he appears extra like one other Aaron Ramsey reasonably than the second coming of Brian Laudrup.
Andreas Skov Olsen nonetheless has all of it to show after a lower than spectacular begin to his time at Ibrox
The Dane, above left, was substituted at half-time after he was largely nameless in opposition to backside membership Livingston
Skov Olsen, above centre, arrived in January with Chukwuani and Rommens, and people two have already regarded like higher signings
After all, it’s too early to solid any definitive judgment. Skov Olsen could effectively come good ultimately. However it’s honest to say {that a} rising variety of Rangers followers have been underwhelmed by his contribution thus far.
In six appearances, he has managed one objective and one help. These numbers aren’t horrible. They aren’t sensible both. They actually don’t scream out that he’s an £8m participant.
Hooked at half-time within the 2-2 draw at Livingston final Sunday, he had been largely nameless for the opening 45 minutes.
Mooted as a winger with craft and guile, with a wand of a left foot and one eye on objective, these are the kind of video games the place he needs to be the difference-maker for Rangers.
That’s to not say that the entire crew had been horrible in West Lothian. Plainly, they weren’t. Livingston keeper Jerome Prior produced a sequence of excellent saves and was rightly named man of the match.
Primarily based on stats across the high quality of probabilities, the xG, and Prior performing past all expectations, info from analytics agency Hudl Statsbomb states that Rangers would win that match 93 instances out of 100 on common.
Granted, with a league title to win, you’d be extra prone to discover Greta Thunberg mixing the plastics and glass bottles in her wheelie bin than a Rangers fan who will hearken to stuff about xG.
In the end, their crew nonetheless dropped factors. At this stage of the season, the result’s all that issues. However that’s simply what the info says. Don’t shoot the messenger and all that.
Skov Olsen made extra of an affect within the win over Hearts, and has to do the identical in opposition to Celtic on Sunday
The Danish winger nonetheless hasn’t proven that he can be price an £8m outlay to hitch Rangers completely in the summertime
In all equity, Skov Olsen had a good recreation the earlier weekend in opposition to Hearts, laying on an help for Youssef Chermiti as Rangers claimed an important win over their title rivals.
However the crew undid a lot of that good work by dropping two factors away from house in opposition to a Livingston aspect who sit backside of the desk with just one win all season.
Given how tight issues are on the prime, two factors may very well be completely very important come the tip of the season. Within the fullness of time, a slip-up like Sunday’s might effectively be considered because the day Rangers misplaced the title.
Skov Olsen has had respectable moments over the previous month. There may be positively a participant in there. Nobody is saying the man doesn’t have means.
However he was delivered to Rangers with a really clear function – to fireplace them to a league title. That may then see them fork out £8m to make him a everlasting fixture.
With back-to-back Previous Agency video games in opposition to a wounded Celtic now developing over the subsequent couple of weeks, he nonetheless has time to point out his price.
However he doesn’t seem like the famous person we noticed within the Champions League for Membership Brugge a number of years in the past. As an alternative, he appears just like the participant Wolfsburg couldn’t wait to eliminate.
Skov Olsen was mooted as the person who might sweep Rangers to title, however followers are nonetheless to see these qualities
Rangers followers can be praying that Skov Olsen can make them victory in opposition to Celtic in title conflict
Have a look at it one other means. Rangers tooled-up for a title cost by signing 4 new gamers in January; Skov Olsen, Tochi Chukwuani, Tuur Rommens and Ryan Naderi.
Of these 4 gamers, who has made the most important affect thus far? Rommens appears to be a superb buy at left-back, whereas Chukwuani has impressed in midfield.
Naderi has added vitality and a objective menace up entrance. The place does that depart Skov Olsen? He was imagined to be the blockbuster signing, however he’s lagging behind the opposite three by way of his affect thus far.
There’s a really actual chance that whoever loses the Previous Agency conflict at Ibrox on Sunday will successfully be knocked out of the title race.
That wasn’t a part of the plan when Skov Olsen pitched up in Glasgow simply over a month in the past.
Not solely is that this a season-defining fortnight for Rangers. It’s a interval that can decide whether or not Skov Olsen has a long-term future on the membership.
Derek McInnes will NEVER get pretty much as good an opportunity as this to win Premiership title
After chalking up one other three factors in opposition to Falkirk, Derek McInnes was in a position to put his toes up final Sunday and watch the drama unfold on TV.
The Hearts boss would naturally have been delighted to see each title rivals dropp factors after Celtic misplaced at house to Hibs and Rangers drew at Livingston.
McInnes will as soon as once more be a eager observer when the massive two conflict at Ibrox on Sunday, by which stage Hearts may very well be even additional clear on the prime in the event that they beat Aberdeen at Tynecastle the day earlier than.
It’s now attending to that time of the season the place the one means Hearts don’t win the Premiership from right here is that if they one way or the other bottle it.
Derek McInnes is in a perfect place to steer his Hearts crew to an historic title triumph
When Tony Bloom invested his cash and began the Jamestown recruitment drive, he spoke brazenly about his ambition to shake up the pure order of Scottish soccer.
He made no secret of his need to win the league title. However there’s now means he might have envisaged the chance would come round so rapidly.
The celebrities have aligned for Hearts in a means that no-one thought attainable.
If McInnes had been to falter from right here, would it not be a black mark on his copybook in Bloom’s eyes? Even when the crew have extra title challenges in future, will they ever have an opportunity pretty much as good as this?
Any failure from right here might see Bloom resolve that McInnes is merely a part of the journey, reasonably than the supervisor who can make them their remaining vacation spot.
This may be pretty much as good an opportunity as McInnes ever will get to win a league title. Fairly merely, it’s now or by no means.
All of the extra so on condition that he’ll immediately be the frontrunner to take over from Steve Clarke as Scotland supervisor after the World Cup in the summertime.
