Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement will be glad the international break arrived when it did, as the Ibrox side have endured a stuttering start to the 2024/25 campaign.
The 3-0 defeat to Celtic last week showcased the differences in quality between the two teams. The Light Blues looked way off the pace against their rivals across all areas of the pitch, sending Clement back to the drawing board.
The Belgian announced his Europa League squad ahead of the first match in a couple of weeks, with some notable names missing out.
Rabbi Matondo and Danilo are two of the players who won't be taking part in any of the group stage games between now and January, with the latter’s exclusion a particular talking point.
Danilo has struggled with injury since arriving last summer, being limited to just 69 minutes of action so far this season, scoring against Ross County.
Now, the Brazilian is ruled out for between 3-4 weeks due to a setback in his recovery from the knee injury sustained last December, which is clearly why he isn’t in the Europa League squad.
Danilo’s Rangers statistics
Michael Beale had to sign several attacking players last summer as the likes of Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos and Antonio Colak were either released or sold.
This saw the Englishman splash around £6m on signing Danilo from Feyenoord, where the striker had scored 14 goals during the 2022/23 campaign.
Despite Beale spending a lot of money on the centre-forward, he took a while to settle in before suffering a broken cheekbone against St Johnstone in September.
By the time he returned, Clement was the man in charge and the 25-year-old began to get more opportunities in the starting XI.
Indeed, under the 50-year-old, Danilo scored three goals and registered four assists in all competitions, showcasing his abilities to not only find the back of the net, but also link up well with others in the team.
He looked a proper part of the starting XI, but during a clash against Hearts in December last season, he suffered a serious knee injury which eventually saw him miss the rest of the campaign.
This is clearly still bothering him, with the latest setback ruining all the progress he had made since the end of the 2023/24 season in getting his fitness back to 100%.
Goals
4
Assists
1
Shots on target per game
1.5
Successful dribbles per game
0.8
Big chances created
1
Goal conversion rate
11%
Unless he recovers in the coming months, this initial £6m outlay could begin to look like a total waste of money.
While hindsight may be a wonderful thing, should Beale have kept Fashion Sakala at Rangers? Especially considering how well he has performed since departing the Gers.
Fashion Sakala’s time at Rangers in numbers
Steven Gerrard led the Gers to a stunning unbeaten League season in 2020/21, leading the club to their first league title in a decade in the process.
It was clear he would need to maintain momentum, however, which meant strengthening his squad, despite the excellent success in the Premiership.
That summer, the likes of John Lundstram, Juninho Bacuna and Sakala all arrived at Ibrox, hardly the marquee names the supporters expected, especially after such a superb campaign.
Sakala didn’t cost a penny, meaning that while he was a gamble, if it didn’t work out, Gerrard wouldn’t have wasted millions in the process.
During his first season, the Zambian scored 12 times and recorded seven assists in all competitions, helping the club reach the Europa League final while also winning the Scottish Cup.
Hardly prolific by any stretch of the imagination, but his unpredictable playing style meant he caused havoc for defenders, while former Ibrox defender Alan Hutton lavished praise on him during that first season, saying: “He’s like a firework, isn’t he? You just light him and watch him go.
“He’s one of these players who plays at 100 miles per hour, he takes players on, he’s aggressive, he can get shots off.”
Not the most attractive of styles, but it proved to be effective now and again, that’s for sure. The 2022/23 campaign saw the forward once again score 12 times, chipping in with eight assists, and he shone under Beale during the second half of the season.
With Beale undergoing a clear out last summer, Sakala was one of the players who were sold to raise funds, as the Light Blues managed to cash in on him for £4m – not bad business for someone who didn’t cost a penny.
Since leaving, the 27-year-old has enjoyed a fruitful spell in the Middle East for Saudi outfit Al-Fayha. Could the club perhaps rue selling the eccentric player?
Fashion Sakala’s statistics since leaving Rangers
Considering only two Rangers players scored more than 20 goals last season, and only three hit double figures, it was clear the Gers missed someone like Sakala.
During his maiden season in Saudi Arabia, the ex-Ibrox gem scored an impressive 22 goals while grabbing nine assists for the club in all competitions, meaning he scored three times as much as Danilo did last term.
Sakala also succeeded with 55% of his dribble attempts in the Saudi Pro League last season, while creating four big chances and averaging 0.9 key passes per game. Given how weak the side looked out wide last term, keeping Sakala may have been a decent choice.
Of course, turning down a fee of around £4m for someone who had divided supporters may have heaped even more pressure on Beale, yet considering how well Sakala had played during the final few months of the 2022/23 campaign, it would have been a logical gamble.
Clement will be hoping Danilo gets up to speed sooner rather than later, otherwise there will be yet more money down the drain on a player with big potential but couldn’t quite get a consistent run in the team due to injuries.
Sakala may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but there is no doubting his ability when in the mood to showcase his talents.
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