Glasgow Rangers officially kicked off the 2025/26 campaign by playing their first pre-season friendly in front of supporters at Ibrox against Club Brugge on Sunday.
The Light Blues found themselves 2-0 down at half-time, having conceded twice in the opening 12 minutes, but second-half goals from Mohamed Diomande and Findlay Curtis ensured that they avoided defeat.
Russell Martin was without some of his summer signings to choose from, though, as the likes of Thelo Aasgaard and Joe Rothwell, for example, watched on from the sidelines.
The former Scotland international did get to see Emmanuel Fernandez and Max Aarons out on the pitch for the first time, as the Scottish giants ramp up their preparations for their Champions League qualifying clash with Panathinaikos.
Martin will surely be hoping to get Aasgaard up to speed as quickly as possible in the next couple of weeks, because the former Luton attacking midfielder has the potential to be an exciting addition to the team.
Why Thelo Aasgaard is an exciting signing for Rangers
The Gers recently snapped up the 23-year-old attacker on a four-year contract after agreeing a reported fee of £3.5m to sign him from the English League One outfit.
Aasgaard left the Hatters just six months after he signed for the club from Wigan Athletic, as they were relegated from the Championship last season, which activated a relegation release clause in his contract at Kennilworth Road.
Rangers took advantage of that to bring him to Ibrox this summer, and they will now be hoping that he plays a key role on the pitch for Martin for many years to come.
Whilst some supporters may not want to hear this, Aasgaard is similar in style to Todd Cantwell. He is another attacking midfielder who can also play out wide and thrive as a roaming number ten who can carry the ball and dribble past players, rather than being outstanding as a goalscorer or a creator.
Goals
0.12
Top 24%
Progressive carries
1.61
Top 26%
Take-ons attempted
2.74
Top 12%
Successful take-ons
1.31
Top 9%
Touches in opposition penalty box
2.62
Top 14%
Fouls won
1.96
Top 11%
As you can see in the table above, the Liverpool-born midfielder thrives with the ball at his feet in the middle of the park, picking it up in pockets of space that allow him to then drive forward into the box, taking players on or winning fouls.
He only produced two goals and one assist in his 17 Championship outings for Luton, though, and Martin may want him to improve his output in the final third at Ibrox.
It is his ball-carrying and willingness to take players on, though, that could make him an exciting signing for the club, who are now eyeing up a forward who would be even more exciting than Aasgaard.
Rangers eyeing Premier League winger
According to The Scottish Sun, Rangers are one of the clubs in the race to secure a deal for Crystal Palace youngster Jesurun Rak-Sakyi this summer.
The report claims that the Light Blues are ‘chasing’ a move to sign the left-footed star, who spent the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Sheffield United in the Championship.
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It reveals that Palace are ready to demand a fee of around £10m to allow the right winger to move on from Selhurst Park before the end of the summer transfer window.
Rangers, however, would prefer to land the talented young forward on a season-long loan, rather than to splash the cash out to sign him permanently, but they would be willing to do a permanent deal if the asking price is reduced.
It now remains to be seen whether or not the Scottish giants can convince the Eagles to allow the dynamo to leave on loan, which may depend on whether or not any other teams are prepared to meet their £10m valuation for a permanent deal.
Why Rangers should sign Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
Vaclav Cerny returning to Wolfsburg at the end of last season, after his loan spell at Ibrox came to an end, left a hole in the team in the right wing position.
This means that Rak-Sakyi could slot straight into the starting XI as Martin’s right winger to replace the Czechia international, and his form for Sheffield United suggests that he has the potential to make an immediate impact.
Whilst Aasgaard is an exciting player in his own right, due to his technical ability, the Crystal Palace youngster would be even more exciting for supporters because he also has the ability to deliver goals and assists to get fans out of their seats.
The 22-year-old whiz, who produced 15 goals and eight assists in League One for Charlton in the 2022/23 campaign, ended last season with a return of seven goals and two assists in 22 league starts for the Blades.
This shows that he is more likely to make an impact in front of goal than Aasgaard in the Scottish Premiership next season, as the Norway international only managed two goals and one assist in the same division.
xG
0.32
Top 13%
Goals
0.36
Top 11%
xG on target
0.36
Top 9%
xA
0.18
Top 22%
Assists
0.10
Bottom 47%
Successful dribbles
2.44
Top 7%
As you can see in the table above, Rak-Sakyi ranked highly among his positional peers in a host of key attacking statistics, aside from assists, which shows that his teammates let him down with their wasteful finishing.
The left-footed star, once hailed as “remarkable” by Roy Hodgson, is a forward who can provide a threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals on a regular basis, whilst also consistently taking on opposition defenders, as shown by his 2.44 successful dribbles per 90.
This suggests that Rak-Sakyi could be an incredibly exciting player for Rangers supporters to watch, because he can combine exciting dribbling skills with quality end product in the final third.
Whereas Aasgaard has the technical and dribbling ability to get around the pitch, but needs to prove that he can deliver the goals and assists to go along with it, which is why the Palace winger could be an even better signing for Martin in the here and now.
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