Glasgow Rangers kept a good chance of winning the Scottish Premiership title with a 1-0 victory over St Mirren on Sunday.
Just three points separate third-placed Rangers and first-placed Hearts with eight games remaining, with the top three having played the same number of games, leading to an exciting end to the season.
Danny Rohl's side secured all three points in Paisley with the gers' first goal from left-back Tuur Rommens, who sneaked in at the back post to tap Nicolas Raskin's cross into the back of the net.
Although they won the match and are still in contention for the title, there were a number of mishaps that derailed St Mirren's victory, as several players failed to step up.
Ryan Naderi, for example, has failed to score in a sixth game in a row since his £4.7m move from Hansa Rostock in the January window.
Why the Rangers made a mistake signing Ryan Naderi
Hopefully the German striker will be a huge success at Ibrox and prove any doubters wrong, but the early signs for the 22-year-old are not promising.
Rangers needed an injection of quality in the final third to strengthen their chances of winning the Premiership this season, however they risked a striker from Germany's third division for almost £5m.
So far, Naderi looks like a player who never played above the third tier in Germany before moving to Ibrox, with his only two goals coming against Queen's Park in the SFA Cup.
|
25/26 Premiership |
Naderi |
|---|---|
|
Appearance |
6 |
|
Goals |
0 |
|
Great opportunities are not missed |
2 |
|
Great opportunities have been created |
0 |
|
It helps |
0 |
|
Dribble success rate |
11% |
|
Duel success rate |
32% |
So, right now it looks like it was a mistake to sign the 6 foot 4 in the winter window because he didn't make the immediate impact that was needed.
In the 1-0 win over St Mirren, the German striker failed to hit any of his four shots on goal and created no chances for his teammates, but won six of nine aerial duels and competed in 19 duels in total, working the team hard on the ball.
Despite his usual struggles in a Rangers shirt, the club made a much bigger mistake than signing Naderi during the January transfer window.
The biggest mistake Rangers made in January
The Light Blues rushed to sign Rommens, Naderi, Tochi Chukwuani, and Andreas Skov Olsen in the winter window in a bid to strengthen their squad.
Rangers also had the chance to move on from a few players after offers came in from other clubs, but they chose to make quick money through Youssef Chermiti and Djeidi Gassama.
The Light Blues rejected a £13m bid from Fenerbahce for the Portuguese midfielder and a £10m bid from AS Monaco for the former Sheffield Wednesday winger.
Looking back, not accepting a £10m bid from Monaco to capitalize on the £2.2m they spent on the Frenchman last summer looks like their biggest mistake of the January transfer window.
Gassama was worse than the aforementioned Naderi when they won against St Mirren, as he finished the game without a shot and when he was placed and there was no chance created for the team, when the German tested the goalkeeper four times and gave him the opportunity to play in the air.
|
Rangers vs St Mirren player ratings |
|
|---|---|
|
The player |
Average |
|
Butland |
6 |
|
Thaveni Restaurant |
5 |
|
Djiga |
7 |
|
Fernandez |
7 |
|
The Romans |
8 |
|
Raskin |
8 |
|
Chukwuan |
6 |
|
Moore |
7 |
|
Gassama |
4 |
|
Chermiti |
5 |
|
Naderi |
5 |
His worst moment came early in the first half when Raskin played the ball into him to take a free shot on goal, and he cut his effort out with the boot of a shot wide of goal.
Despite his struggles in the final third, the former English Championship player was ineffective, completing just 12 passes in an hour on the pitch.
Speaking ahead of the game, former Rangers striker Kris Boyd said he would not be surprised to see the club cash in on Gassama in the summer due to a lack of transfer.
In the Premiership this season, the French forward has scored just two goals and provided three assists in 30 games for the Gers, despite starting 23 of those games.
Since a £10m bid from Monaco was rejected on 27 January, Gassama has kept a clean sheet and one assist in seven Premiership games for Rangers, failing to win four of those games.
Instead of banking on the £10m that could be spent on players who are ready to step in and make an impact on the pitch immediately, Rangers have opted to keep a player who has failed to deliver consistently as a regular starter in the league.
Given his inconsistency and underperformance in the Premiership, it is hard to see turning down Monaco's bid as the biggest mistake of the window, and a bigger mistake than signing Naderi, who was more active than him on Sunday.
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