As far as Old Firm debuts go, they don’t get much bigger than this for Rangers pair Mohamed Diomande and Fabio Silva.
Two of the three signings made by Rangers in the January window, injured Oscar Cortes completing the trio, the upcoming clash with Celtic is going to be their first taste of the famous derby.
But the stakes could not be higher with the Scottish Premiership title momentum very much on the line at Ibrox this weekend.
With the season about to start bottlenecking Rangers could establish an advantage of five points with victories over Celtic and then Dundee.
Both of the club’s Old Firm debutants, in one shape or another, are very likely to be central to Rangers following through on that challenge.
Fabio Silva ready for Old Firm debut
Signed on loan from Wolves in January, Fabio Silva has been finding something of a home in Glasgow.
Whilst we’ve only saw brief flashes of the £35m player who moved to the Molineux from FC Porto in 2020, the striker has gone public with his much he likes it at Rangers.
Fabio has made a solid – if not groundbreaking – impression too.
A tireless forward who shows touches and moments of genuine quality, hesitancy in front of goal and indecisiveness in the final third are the areas of his game Silva needs to sharpen.
But as the forward’s goals on Portugal U21 duty prove, there’s talent there and let’s hope it’s an Old Firm debut to remember for the hitman.
Mohamed Diomande key for Rangers v Celtic
Mohamed Diomande is quickly emerging as the poster boy of Rangers’ increased focused on player trading in the transfer market.
The Ibrox side want to be recognised as a crucial developmental step in the careers of players in their early 20s with as of yet untapped potential.
Mohamed Diomande – who has just spent four years in Denmark – was ready to take the next step in his career and he had a number of options on the table.
Rangers convinced the Ivorian Right to Dream Academy graduate, helped by Diomande’s fondness of the club’s colours as a youngster, and since then the midfielder has made a big impression.
The stage is set for the kid to go and leave an impression on Celtic now too.
Mohamed Diomande signed a £4.5m loan-to-buy deal to move from FC Nordsjælland in Denmark to Rangers in January.
