Nils Koppen has taken to social media after Rangers signing Mohamed Diomande scored his first goal for the club in the win over St Johnstone.
The Gers’ new Director of Recruitment has come in with the mandate of improving the club’s player trading model, the so-called “fourth pillar” of Rangers’ business model.
The January window was Nils Koppen’s first opportunity to make his mark on Rangers with Mohamed Diomande joining Fabio Silva and Oscar Cortes in signing for the club.
All three players have started brightly at Ibrox but with big things expected of Ivorian midfielder Diomande, Koppen took a moment to reflect on social media.
Nils Koppen responds to Mohamed Diomande rocket
Responding to Rangers sharing Mohamed Diomande’s right-footed rocket v St Johnstone, Nils Koppen simply shared the “🚀” emoji.
It was a moment of not-so-subtle satisfaction from the former PSV Eindhoven and KRC Genk recruitment guru, who played a key role in signing the midfielder.
Whilst Fabio Silva is only on loan from Wolves until the end of the season, and Oscar Cortes has an option-to-buy at the end of his RC Lens loan deal, Mohamed Diomande is technically the director’s first permanent signing at the club.
Rangers have signed a deal to sign the midfielder from FC Nordsjælland for the guts of £4.5m in the summer after an initial six month loan.
Philippe Clement praises Rangers midfielder
Nils Koppen is just one member of Rangers’ new look recruitment board at the club, with Philippe Clement also a key player in the Mohamed Diomande deal.
Rangers have ditched the Sporting Director model which was in place under Ross Wilson, the new model ensuring numerous contributors to the club’s recruitment with delegated responsibilities.
There is huge scrutiny on Rangers’ transfer dealings and it’s so far so good for both Nils Koppen and Philippe Clement in this regard.
Rangers manager Clement was also asked about Mohamed Diomande’s best position and claimed the player’s versatility is a major asset to the squad.
“He can play in the three positions in midfield,” said Clement. “We had a lot of talks with him about that.
“I want also to know players really well before they come into the building. So I want players who are available for the team, who don’t only come to play their own game or their own position.
“Dio can play the three positions in midfield without a problem. It’s good for him of course to feel directly really good in the team but it’s because of all the people around him also.
“It’s about the connection together and he adapted really fast because the other guys are helping him in that way.”
Mohamed Diomande came through at the famous Right to Dream academy at Ghana before moving to Denmark four years ago, going on to make over 100 appearances for FC Nordsjælland.
