As Mohamed Diomande closes in on a move to Rangers, he’ll be hoping to follow West Ham striker Mohammed Kudus’s Right to Dream.
The Gers are reportedly closing in on a deal to bring the 22-year-old Ivorian midfielder to the club from Danish club FC Nordsjælland in what would be Philippe Clement’s second signing.
In the Belgian’s own words, the transfer isn’t done until it’s announced and with a medical scheduled this week all eyes will be on the Rangers social feeds in the coming days.
But as Rangers look set to announce something of a progressive signing in the shape of Mohamed Diomande, the success of fellow Right to Dream Academy graduate Mohammed Kudus has set the midfielder a Premier League example.
Mohamed Diomande earns Rangers Right to Dream
Danish club FC Nordsjælland have close links to the Ghanaian youth academy, which has harnessed the power of football to change the lives of its young players in several different ways.
Not only has the Right to Dream Academy offered players such as seemingly Rangers-bound Mohamed Diomande or now West Ham striker Mohammed Kudus a chance to make it as footballers, but it’s also helped some of its students into prestigious universities such as Stanford in the USA.
It is a wonderful institution, if not limited in its ability to provide support, with only 18 scholarships handed out amongst the 25k auditions across their 75 recruitment tournaments.
It’s an Academy also close to home in many ways for Rangers, with former youth coach Cameron Campbell spending time at Right to Dream in his coaching journey.
Having just joined RB Leipzig, the Academy has clear had a profound effect on Cameron, who joined Rangers after a stint with FC Nordsjælland.
Mohammed Kudus turning West Ham heads
Mohamed Diomande moved to Denmark some four years ago and has already made 111 appearances in European club football despite only being 22-years-old.
Rangers is very much the next step for the Right to Dream graduate, who look to follow the example of former Ajax striker Mohammed Kudus.
Kudus, 23, is a name which will be very familiar to Ibrox fans with the striker having scored in both matches as Ajax blew away the Gers in the Champions League last season.
Performances such as that one earned Kudus a reported £38m move to West Ham in the summer, where he’s netted 13 goals already for the Hammers this season.
The striker has also just scored twice for native country Ghana as the Black Stars earned a 2-2 draw with Egypt at AFCON in the Ivory Coast.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement was clear about the club signing players with high potential who could go on to bank the Ibrox side big money in future transfers.
It’s the reality of Rangers’ position in the food chain and – echoing the comments of Clement – it feels strange to be discussing a player’s potential exit before he’s even signed.
But if this move is to be a success for everyone, then Mohamed Diomande will hope to replicate Mohamed Kudus as the midfielder earns the Right to Dream at Rangers.
Just not before he leaves his mark on Ibrox and the Gers support first.
