After Wycombe Wanderers secured the services of Alex Lowry, a second Rangers player to set to finalise his departure from Ibrox this week.
The Scotland Under-21 international crosses the border to join the League One promotion chasers on a permanent basis.
He had struggled to build on a few impressive early performances in Rangers colours. And, after failing to make an impact on loan at Hearts, Alex Lowry joins Wycombe Wanderers hoping to get his once-promising career back on the right track.
Rabbi Matondo is another who should benefit from a fresh start on the other side of Hadrian’s Wall.
To think, 2024/25 had been shaping up to be the season in which Matondo finally made his mark in Glasgow. Two goals and two assists in a scintillating performance against Ross County in August initially felt like a coming of age moment.
Now – Rangers News reported earlier this month that Rangers were ready to part with Matondo – it feels more like a false dawn.
Rabbi Matondo set to leave Rangers for Coventry City
An untimely hamstring injury kept Matondo out until December. And, once the Welsh international returned to selection, he found himself stuck behind the revitalised Ianis Hagi and deadline day arrival Nedim Bajrami in Philippe Clement’s pecking order.
Clement even left Matondo out of the Rangers squad during the 3-0 victory over Aberdeen last week. Zak Lovelace was included instead, alongside fellow teenager Bailey Rice. Matondo was nowhere to be seen again even as a much-changed Gers side cruised past Fraserburgh in the Scottish Cup on Sunday.
If that felt like a pre-cursor to a rather inevitable exit, then it should come as no surprise to learn that the £3 million acquisition from FC Schalke 04 is now on the verge of bringing an end to a largely underwhelming Rangers career.
According to the Coventry Telegraph, Matondo is joining Coventry City on an initial loan deal. One that could become permanent to the tune of £2 million. As such, Rangers will recoup only two-thirds of the fee they paid to bring the former Liverpool and Manchester City whizzkid to Ibrox back in 2022.
Interestingly, Matondo will become the first signing of the Frank Lampard reign at Coventry.
Lampard was under consideration for the Rangers job between the sacking of Mick Beale and the appointment of Philippe Clement a year-and-a-half ago.
And while the Chelsea legend is attempting to jump-start his managerial reputation with the Sky Blues, Matondo will now hope to do the same himself with regards to a player career perhaps best described as ‘stop-start’.
“I can say about Rabbi that I made a choice, a sporting choice to put two young lads [on the bench instead],” Clement said when dropping Matondo and Kieran Dowell for that Aberdeen clash.
“Because I think they are performing for the moment better.”
Zak Lovelace and Findlay Curtis could benefit from Matondo exit
Matondo’s exit should, in theory, open the door for the likes of Findlay Curtis to pursue more regular first-team minutes. The Rangers teenager was ‘brilliant’ off the bench against Fraserburgh, Connor Barron joining Clement in paying tribute to the crafty Auchenhowie kid.
“Indeed, he’s one of the guys who’s developing really well,” Clement said of Curtis as Rangers set up a fifth-round clash with Queens’ Park. “The last couple of months he’s trained a lot of times with us but there are others also, so it’s difficult for me to point out one.
“Zak [Lovelace] is coming back out of a long injury. Bailey Rice is doing really good things in training, that’s why I wanted to give him also minutes, but there are also guys like Paul Nsio who’s not in the squad today that are making a good evolution.
“It’s about all of them to keep on working hard, to be hungry, to have the desire to become better and then to push the others and to make next steps.”
