Former Rangers striker Cedric Itten could be in line for a big Bundesliga switch with Borussia Monchengladbach keen on the Switzerland international.
Marcus Thuram’s expiring contract means that a replacement will soon be required at Borussia Park; one of German football’s most highly-regarded attackers on his way out in a matter of months.
Whether it be Itten, a Brandon Vazquez or perhaps a Hugo Cuypers; whoever steps into the void created by the departure of a ‘world-class’ France international will have big shoes to fill.
Itten’s remarkable form throughout 2022/23, however, should go some way to explaining why a man who underwhelmed at Ibrox appears to be high on Gladbach’s summer wishlist (BILD, via Fussball Transfers).
Former Rangers striker Cedric Itten now a Borussia Monchengladbach target
In 30 games for BSC Young Boys, Itten has scored 16 goals and set up 11 more. He averages a goal or an assist every 1.1 games for the Swiss Super League outfit. A massive increase on his average of every 4.5 games at Rangers.
Itten, who the Glasgow giants sold for just £1.5 million last summer, even netted a 14-minute hat-trick in a comfortable 3-0 win over Swiss giants FC Basel before the March international break.
It’s been quite the re-birth for a man who, only a few months ago, was being held up as an example of Rangers’ below-par recruitment during the Ross Wilson era.
“Since Ross Wilson arrived as sporting director in October 2019, the club have signed 25 first-team players. Only James Sands and John Lundstram started against Napoli (in Champions League),” former Ibrox hero Kris Boyd told the Sun.
“What does it say about the transfer policy? When you have to rely on the old heads for a Champions League match of that importance?
“Rangers fans have every right to ask what’s going on with recruitment. The club can’t turn a blind eye to it.
“Cedric Itten was a waste of money. He was never going to be good enough for Rangers.”
Maybe, in Wilson’s defence, the scrutiny surrounding Itten’s Ibrox failure should focus on the management rather than the recruitment department. A prolific goalscorer either side of that Glasgow spell, Rangers is starting to look like a rare blot on the striker’s otherwise impressive copybook.
