As Rangers cruised past Aberdeen, a few members of Philippe Clement’s side could claim to have produced their finest performance to date in light blue.
Certainly Clinton Nsiala.
The summer signing from AC Milan produced his best Vaclav Cerny impression as he turned provider for Leon Balogun’s stoppage-time decider against Jimmy Thelin’s beleaguered side.
And, as Hamza Igamane opened the scoring with his ninth goal in 12 Premiership starts, this was arguably the most complete display yet from a striker with all the attributes required to reach the very highest of levels.
Rampaging left-back Jefte was one of five Rangers players rated 8/10 and over, meanwhile, as the £400,000 acquisition from Fluminense came agonisingly close to a third assist in Scotland’s top flight.
CEO Patrick Stewart namechecked Jefte over the weekend as one of three players he expects to enjoy a massive 2025 in Glasgow, alongside fellow newbies Igamane and Nedim Bajrami.
And, as Jefte ran riot down Aberdeen’s left-hand flank, the buccaneering Brazilian has certainly started the new year as he means to go on.
Gordon Dalziel admits he’s changed his mind on Rangers star Jefte
One of the major criticisms of the Clement era at Ibrox is that the under-fire Rangers boss arguably falls short when tasked with improving the players at his disposal.
Gordon Dalziel does not buy into that theory, however. He highlights Igamane’s rapid-fire emergence from third-choice to talisman, as well as the ever-growing influence of Jefte in the position Borna Barisic once called his own.
“People say [Clement] doesn’t improve players,” says Dalziel, who started his career with Rangers in the 1970s before moving to Manchester City.
“I’ll tell you what, I was not a fan of Jefte [initially but] I think he’s come on leaps and bounds. He was brilliant [against Aberdeen]!
Much was made of the former APOEL loanee’s technical qualities when arriving at Ibrox. His typically Samba-style effervescence. Jefte’s idol is Real Madrid legend Marcelo, after all; As much a playmaker as he was a full-back.
But Derek Ferguson, the one-time Gers attacker, thinks it may be Jefte’s physical and athletic qualities which have aided his adaptation into the mud and thistles of Scottish football.
“Jefte has the pace, the power,” Ferguson adds.
Technical director Nils Koppen uses Jefte and Igamane as examples of the success that can be enjoyed when delving into more exotic waters.
Brought in from Brazil and Morocco respectively for a combined fee of just over £2 million, for all the criticism Rangers have faced over their recruitment in recent years, two of the Premiership’s fastest-rising stars are proving week-in, week-out to represent outstanding value for money.
Patrick Stewart expects even more from Jefte at Ibrox
Stewart, speaking while throwing his weight behind Clement after that 1-1 draw with Dundee, played down the prospect of a busy January at a Rangers side lacking in funds.
He feels that, with the likes of James Tavernier, Jack Butland and John Souttar returning and with the best yet to come from Jefte, Igamane and Bajrami, the Gers squad is actually a lot stronger than some have given it credit for.
“We’ve got players that are coming back from injury,” the chief executive says. “We’ve got players that are contributing far more and you’ve seen they’re contributing far more in the second quarter of the season.
“Three of them – Hamza, Jefte, and Bajrami – have contributed far more in the second quarter of the season. We’d expect that development to continue into the second half of the season.
“And we had players out for a large part of the first half of the season that only just come back from injury. We’ve got players that are injured at the moment that will be coming back so we actually have a large squad.”
