There is always a degree of scepticism when Rangers sign young players on loan. At least with James Sands and Malik Tillman, we have had purchase clauses inserted into the deals so that we can “try” before we buy.
The likes of Lassana Coulibaly, Ovie Ejaria and Sheyi Ojo arriving and looking like the real deal before gradually disappearing has further reinforced many opinions that developing other clubs’ youth prospects shouldn’t be an approach we return to.
In the case of Tillman though, he has gone from a player who was massively overrated in terms of potential fee – said to be around £5million – to a player who is a bargain and a must buy. Like buying a tenner with a fiver is the best description I’ve seen.
Speaking to Football Insider, Alan Hutton (despite not being aware of any pre-arranged fee) reckons that Michael Beale will be doing everything he can to keep the 20-year old at Ibrox:
“Listening to what Michael Beale has said over the last couple of weeks it seems like he wants him to stay.
“The fee will still have to be discussed but he is definitely coming on.
“There was always question marks over his defensive abilities but I think he has improved.
“He has just got that nature where everything seems to come easy for him and some fans think he is not working as hard but he definitely is.
“He is scoring goals now, he is contributing so I am pretty sure the manager will want to tie him down long term.“
Beale has hinted that if we wanted to sign the USA international that it is between the two clubs to iron out the details. A rumoured buy back clause has also been reported so it sounds like a question of how the deal would be structured with Tillman’s terms also agreed.
We have seen different sides to TIllman as he has played more games. It is easy to forget his age, however, he is pretty much learning on the job, in terms of senior football, every time he steps onto the pitch for us. There will be games where he is inconsistent but he has provided more than enough evidence that he can also be the difference and that’s why the Gers gaffer is so keen to sign him up permanently.