New Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell will know that he’s got his work cut out for him as he prepares to make the switch to Ibrox in the summer.
Thelwell has done a solid job at Everton in trying circumstances but with the Premier League side set to restructure under new US ownership, the 51-year-old is set to move north.
There are plenty of major challenges on the horizon for Kevin Thelwell, who is tasked with trying to ship out several players to reduce the Rangers wage-bill.
But when it comes to one high-earning Ibrox star, Thelwell has his work cut out to ensure Rangers can finally cut their losses.
Rabbi Matondo set to return to Rangers
That’s because Rabbi Matondo looks set to return to Rangers this summer after moving on loan to Hannover 96 in January.
Hannover had an option-to-buy Matondo for around £1m should they have achieved Bundesliga promotion, but the second division outfit have dropped out of the race.
As a result, Hannover have sacked manager Andre Breitenreiter with sporting director Marcus Mann suggesting a major rebuild is on the horizon.
”We are, of course, extremely dissatisfied with how the last few weeks have gone,” Mann said, as quoted by the Rangers Review. ”Now it’s all about finishing the season properly.
“We will use the players we want for next season in the remaining games. The players who are on loan and out of contract in the summer won’t be involved.”
Kevin Thelwell faces £3m Rangers transfer challenge
Rangers had hoped to cut around £4.2m from the club’s wage bill with the permanent exits of four loan stars come the summer.
But whilst Kieran Dowell and Ben Davies have impressed at Birmingham, the situation with both Rabbi Matondo and Aris Thessaloniki loanee Jose Cifuentes is more complex.
Aris want to re-negotiate the purchase of Cifuentes, who has a sizeable option-to-buy in his contract, whilst Matondo will return to Ibrox.
Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson sanctioned a £3m deal to sign Matondo from Schalke 04 in 2022 and the winger’s Ibrox career has never really got of the ground.
Injuries have devastated his time in Glasgow and a move to the English Championship surely beckons after Matondo opened his account for Wales during the last international break.
Kevin Thelwell will hope to first get Matondo’s £23k per week (£1.2m per annum) wages off the bill but will also look to recoup a small fee for the attacker.
It’s one of the first major challenges facing the Englishman, as he looks to fill the position left behind by Ross Wilson in April 2023.
