This week could see two talented midfielders who arrived in Scottish football for £1.5 million apiece seal their departures from the Old Firm.
Matt O’Riley, after a couple of magical and trophy-laden seasons at Celtic, joined Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday, earning Brendan Rodgers’ side a cool £23.5 million profit along the way.
As for Todd Cantwell, the former Norwich City playmaker who joined Rangers for an identical fee in January 2023, well lets just say those on the blue-side of the city will not be enjoying a similarly eye-watering windfall any time soon.
While O’Riley arrived as a little-known youngster with a few stand-out performances in England’s third tier under his belt, Cantwell joined having established himself as a genuine game-changer at Premier League level.
Linked with a £30 million move to Tottenham and Manchester City back in 2020, per The Athletic, Cantwell scored a famous winner against Pep Guardiola’s side only a few months previously while also netting against Arsenal, Man United and Chelsea.
After running down his Norwich contract and heading to Rangers on a cut-price fee, if O’Riley was a project signing for Celtic, then Cantwell was supposed to be a player capable of immediately strolling into the starting XI and taking Mick Beale’s side to an all-new level.
Now, he is out of favour, out of the squad, and stuck on the sidelines with clubs hardly queuing up to free the so-called ‘Dereham Deco’ from his Ibrox nightmare.
Rangers want to sell Todd Cantwell
For Kris Boyd, not only has O’Riley outgrown Scottish football, he has outstripped Cantwell too.
“I think Matt O’Riley, in terms of performances, has outgrown the football club,” Boyd tells the Scottish Sun. “Or outgrown the league. Matt O’Riley, it’s right for him to move on.
“I think the Todd Cantwell one is one everybody is looking at and saying, what he has done for Rangers, he’s definitely split the opinion of the fans. There’s some for him and some against him.
“I don’t think there has been that consistency in his game since he arrived.
“If you had said a few years ago that both of them would come to Scottish football, who would be leaving for millions, I think the majority of people would have said Todd Cantwell.
“But, for whatever reason, he has struggled to deal with the Glasgow goldfish bowl. And there’s no doubt Philippe Clement is trying to get him (out the door).”
Kris Boyd hopes Ianis Hagi can force his way back in
Clement has already confirmed that Cantwell is free to leave, explaining ahead of Saturday’s 6-0 obliteration of Ross County that the Norwich academy graduate had just not settled north of the border.
And while his return of 15 goals and assists in 38 Premiership games is far from disastrous, it pales in comparison to O’Riley’s 44 in 79.
Cantwell, meanwhile, is not the only Rangers misfit who will be allowed to leave this week.
While Blackburn Rovers target Rabbi Matondo looks to have secured his place in Clement’s plans with a sparkling display against Ross County, Ianis Hagi finds himself stuck on the exit ramp too with Rapid Bucharest unlikely to be able to finance his return to Romania.
“The Ianis Hagi one is an interesting for me,” Boyd adds, hoping that a solution can be found to a difficult situation. “From a Rangers and a Ianis Hagi point of view, surely you can go to him and sort something that allows him to come in and play between now and the next transfer window (if he is to stay in Glasgow).
“Both feet, he can score goals, he can create, he was at the Euros as well! He’s a good player. This situation is not helping anyone.”
