Rangers have reportedly decided that Rabbi Matondo will not be leaving the club in January as Michael Beale gives his backing to the under fire winger.
The Gers splashed out a reported £2.5m to bring Matondo to Glasgow from Schalke 04 in Germany and the 22-year-old did come with a solid reputation.
The German outfit paid Man City a reported £11m to bring him to the Continent in 2019 whilst last season the attacker impressed by scoring 10 goals in 27 appearances whilst on loan at Cercle Brugge.
But with Rangers paying a reported £28k per week to sign the winger (or £1.5m per season), there is plenty of pressure on the kid to succeed and show why Premier League sides and Celtic were being linked before a deal at Ibrox was struck.
In 21 appearances for Rangers the winger is yet to find the net and the fact Rabbi Matondo wasn’t even on the bench against our Old Firm rivals or in the win over Dundee United has had plenty of fans talking.
Rabbi Matondo to reportedly remain at Rangers
There have been simmering rumours regarding a potential loan exit in January but according to Football Scotland Rabbi Matondo is expected to stay at Rangers and fight for his place.
This follows on from comments by Michael Beale regarding the player, who missed a glaring opportunity to score in the closing stages of the 1-0 win over Ross County.
“He’s a young boy,” said Michael Beale.
“He’s an international, played in the Bundesliga, played in the Belgian league, he’s here for a reason.
“He’s maybe having a crisis of confidence, it would have been lovely if he had scored that goal, for him and for everyone.
“He’s our player, we trust him, we bought him for a reason and we will help him out the other side of it.
“He’s one of us so I think at this moment in time it is clear to see that he is struggling for confidence and rhythm and that is my job and his team-mates to pick him up because we believe there is a player there.”
Meanwhile, Rangers are said to be competing with Celtic in the hunt for an East Asian talent.
