Former Rangers loanee Malik Tillman is making his mark at PSV Eindhoven with a £12 million permanent deal for the Bayern Munich-owned midfielder ‘a bargain’.
It speaks volumes about the almost unprecedented strength in depth at PSV’s disposal that players such as Ismael Saibari, Guus Til and Patrick van Aanholt – who would stroll into almost every other Eredivisie team without breaking sweat – are not even guaranteed starters for Peter Bosz’s runaway leaders.
Malik Tillman, too.
Such a hit on loan at Rangers in 2023/24, Tillman has made as many appearances off the bench (nine) as he has in the PSV XI this season. But, despite spending much of his time in Eindhoven on the bench, the former Ibrox ace has still done more than enough – even in his limited game time – to show that a £12 million permanent deal is well worth rubber-stamping.
Former Rangers ace starring at PSV Eindhoven
“It’s a bargain,” Dutch football expert Valentijn Driessen tells De Telegraaf after Tillman nutmegged the highly-rated David Hancko before firing home during PSV’s 2-2 draw with Feyenoord last weekend.
“It was a great move by Tillman. It is, of course, a bargain if you manage to pick it up. If he plays two or three more good games in the Champions League, he will go for a lot.”
That £12 million fee, Driessen believes, is an investment not only for the present but for the future too. PSV, like all clubs in the Netherlands, operate on a sign-low, sell-high policy, and a player of Tillman’s craft, guile and end-product could earn the club a sizeable profit later down the line.
Tillman has six goals and nine assists for PSV this term. He is just two shy now from matching his tally of ‘goal contributions’ from that 2022/23 campaign at Rangers.
£12 million is ‘a bargain’ for Malil Tillman
“He does things that not every player can do, and always has an eye for his fellow players. He turns well, frees himself up, then passes the ball quickly,” adds Ibrahim Afellay, the one-time Barcelona winger.
“Then, he keeps control and accelerates again. What he shows is really impressive.
“Sometimes he still seems a bit laconic. It seems like he doesn’t care about anything. But he has so much quality, he really is a boy with a lot of potential. I sincerely hope that PSV will soon exercise the purchase option for Tillman.”
According to former Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the Glasgow giants wanted to keep Tillman in Scotland, only for Bayern Munich to ki-bosh those hopes before farming him out to the more deep-pocketed PSV.
Rangers will face Benfica in the Europa League last-16 first-leg on Thursday.
