Feyenoord ‘will listen’ to offers for Rangers target Danilo with the club’s Eredivisie-winning coach Arne Slot demanding more from his centre-forwards.
Perhaps Ronald de Boer – the former Dutch international and one-time Ibrox hero – said it best, discussing Rangers’ ongoing striker search in conversation with the Daily Record; Danilo and Cyriel Dessers – Feyenoord frontman present and past – jostling for position at the top of Mick Beale’s wishlist.
“If you want to play more like ‘total football’, then Danilo is a perfect player for that,” De Boer argues.
“Danilo is more about movement and pressing high. He’s totally different than Dessers’ type. Dessers will use his body more. If that’s what you want, then he is probably the better option.
“If you want a guy who waits for the moment, doesn’t get involved that much in the build up and gets in the box then it’s Dessers. But if you want to play high pressing football and you want to link up, then Danilo is the perfect guy.”
Rangers must pay Feyenoord £7m for Danilo
Which of the two Beale prefers, time will tell. Rangers failed with an opening bid for the £7 million-rated Danilo recently, but remain hot on the heels of Dessers too (Scottish Sun).
Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, meanwhile, has made it clear since the turn of the year that he expects more from his first-choice number nine than Danilo is capable of offering. The Brazilian shared centre-forward duties with Santiago Jimenez up until Christmas.
He then lost his place to the Mexico international in the second-half of the campaign.
What Danilo lacks in ‘completeness’, however, he can potentially make up for with his ice-cool finishing.
“Danilo can look back on a good season in terms of numbers,” Feyenoord reporter Martijn Krabbendam tells Voetbal International; the former Ajax ace scoring 14 times in all competitions as the Rotterdam giants won the Eredivisie for only the second time this century.
“Danilo emphasises his quality as a finisher. But Slot expects more from a striker. With his statistics, Danilo is an ideal striker for Feyenoord. Nevertheless, Feyenoord will listen if clubs come forward.”
With Todd Cantwell, James Tavernier, Borna Barisic and co laying on an all-you-can-eat buffet of chances at Ibrox, Danilo should be able to gorge himself upon goalscoring opportunities if Rangers are willing to double their opening £3.5 million offer.
He could also strike up a good understanding with Sam Lammers. While Danilo likes to run in behind, Lammers prefers to drop deep into the number ten role.
