Potential Leeds United interest in Rabbi Matondo appears to be the source of great Rangers transfer confusion.
The 23-year-old Welsh winger is in his third year as a Rangers player but has yet to convince the Ibrox legions that he’s worth the weekly wage or the outlay the club paid for him.
Signed as a potential long-term successor to Ryan Kent, Rabbi Matondo has huffed and puffed between a number of injuries at Ibrox.
Save for a brief purple patch and some moments of genuine quality, its been a largely disappointing 24 months in Glasgow.
But two years on from that £2.5m move from Schalke 04, fresh suggestions that Leeds United are interested in Rabbi Matondo continue to polarise journalists.
Fresh Leeds United links to Rabbi Matondo cause conflict
For the time being, Rabbi Matondo is firmly involved in Philippe Clement’s Rangers squad.
The winger started the weekend’s 2-0 victory over St Johnstone whilst Matondo has come off the bench v Hearts, Motherwell and Dynamo Kyiv.
This isn’t exactly the first-team exposure of a player Rangers want to get off the books this summer.
But Matondo makes up a group of five first-teamers who the club reportedly hope to shift in the next nine days.
Links to Leeds United, who’ve been bankrolled by the sales of Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter this summer, emerged last week.
Only for the suggestion that Matondo could move to Leeds to be shot down by local Yorkshire journalists.
But that hasn’t stopped Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider claiming that Leeds are set to ‘step up’ their Rabbi Matondo interest.
It comes with the Elland Road club appearing to miss out on a deal for Norwich City’s Jonathon Rowe, who has been strongly linked to Ligue 1 side Marseille.
With O’Rourke insisting that Leeds United boss Daniel Farke is a big fan of Matondo, the story has caused a bit of a stir in Leeds circles.
We’re sure O’Rourke will be mindful of the conflicting reports surrounding Leeds United interest in in Matondo and this is precisely why it makes these latest claims so interesting.
Rangers linked to winger pair amid Rabbi Matondo rumblings
Given Rabbi Matondo is yet to piece it all together at Rangers, now might be a healthy time to cash in.
The Welsh winger clearly has talent and technical ability but there is distinct lack of responsibility and maturity in the way the ex-Manchester City youth plays.
Rangers need any player who is on the north of £20k per week to deliver for the club on a consistent basis.
There can be no argument against the fact that Matondo has failed to do this.
Whilst this is the kind of player we might go on to regret losing later in his career, at the moment Rangers aren’t getting enough from Rabbi and we need more ruthlessness in the final third.
Given Rangers appear to have missed out on Abdallah Sima, there have also been a number of interesting transfer links in the winger position in the last few days.
Croatian international winger Josip Brekalo is one name, whilst Benfica winger Tiago Gouveia has been linked in Portugal.
