It is never easy for any player arriving in Scottish football – especially at a club as demanding as Rangers – long before they know their numpties from their doolally.
But spare a thought for Clinton Nsiala.
Not only was the summer signing from AC Milan completely new to Scotland, he was also completely new to the rigours of senior, first-team football. The former France youth international had not even made his first-team debut in the professional game before Rangers travelled to Dundee at the start of January.
Not that you’d have guessed it.
Philippe Clement was full of praise for Clinton Nsiala after that Dens Park draw, the youngster playing with the maturity and poise of a man ten years his senior. Since then, Rangers’ number 19 has gone from strength to strength, ticking off milestones every few days.
Nsiala secured a first clean sheet beat Aberdeen 3-0. Nsiala provided a first assist for Rangers teammate Leon Balogun that night too. Then came a first goal.
A fizzing long-range shot finding the net with the help of a hefty deflection as Fraserburgh were blown away in the Scottish Cup over the weekend.
Next; a European bow?
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Clinton Nsiala proving his Rangers critics wrong
Rangers travel to Manchester United in the penultimate game of Europa League’s first phase on Thursday.
Nsiala could – and some will argue should – be rewarded with a start against Ruben Amorim’s team. Especially considering that he has largely outperformed Robin Propper since stepping into the team due to that defensive injury crisis.
The speed of Nsiala’s ascent has certainly taken many by surprise. No more so than Paul Slane and Simon Ferry.
Slane, a former Scotland prospect turned pundit, encountered plenty of doubters when discussing Nsiala’s switch to Glasgow last summer. Ferry, meanwhile, saw the 21-year-old up close when his East Kilbride outfit faced the Gers in a friendly in the back end of 2024.
“I know a lot of people in the game who were saying to me; ‘He is not up to the standard of Rangers’,” Slane reveals.
“We played them in a bounce game at the end of last year,” Ferry adds. “We organised a friendly against Rangers at Murray Park and, if you told me he was going to play in the first-team and do really well, I would have been surprised.
“But he’s doing well, he’s got a lovely left foot.”
Nsiala has been likened to Virgil van Dijk and Calvin Bassey
That left foot – the one he used to score from range against Fraserburgh – saw Nsiala compared to Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk by Rangers teammate Ross McCausland on Friday.
“He’s been amazing,” said McCausland, who also fond the net in the Scottish Cup alongside hat-trick hero Cyriel Dessers. “Just even the past few games watching him. Us on the bench were saying he was like Van Dijk. A left-footed Van Dijk.
“It was good to see that he was ready for his opportunity and he’s certainly took it.”
Van Dijk is not the only Premier League stalwart who has been mentioned in conjunction with the one-time Serie A prospect. Clinton Nsiala could be Rangers’ second coming of Calvin Bassey, according to former Ibrox hitman Marco Negri.
“I’m really proud of Clinton Nsiala,” Clement said a few days ago. “Because of all the work he’s been doing in recent months with the B team and in training.”
