Cyriel Dessers is not the only Rangers player who could swap the Scottish Premiership for the Italian Serie A before February’s transfer deadline.
While Dessers opened the door to a potential Rangers exit this week – talks will be held with the Ibrox bosses, he says, after falling behind Hamza Igamane and Danilo in the pecking order – the £4.5 million benchwarmer may yet find himself boarding a flight to Italy with another who has spent much of the last few weeks gathering dust on the sidelines.
Rabbi Matondo returned in the festive period after a lengthy spell on the treatment table with a hamstring injury. The Wales international has featured in a grand total of two from a possible six games since then, however.
Matondo was nowhere to be seen as Rangers beat Aberdeen 3-0 on Wednesday night meanwhile.
Clement puts the winger’s omission, as well as that of Kieran Dowell, down to his belief that youngsters Zak Lovelace and Bailey Rice are simply performing better on the training pitch at present.
So, if not Ibrox, where next for Matondo?
Rabbi Matondo could join Nikola Krstovic if he leaves Rangers for Lecce
Well, Rangers News can exclusively reveal that Rabbi Matondo has admirers in Italy. Both Torino and Lecce are taking up their place in the queue, alongside a number of clubs from England’s second tier.
And while Rangers are willing to sanction a loan deal, any agreement would likely have to be propped up by an option or obligation-to-buy clause. Matondo is understood to be valued at around £2 million.
Should Lecce win the race, meanwhile, the one-time Manchester City, Liverpool and Schalke prospect could find himself under pressure to provide the ammunition for a striker who appears to have found his killer instinct again after a rough spell at the Stadio Via del Mare.
A striker who’s name may be somewhat familiar to the Rangers supporters who can recall 2023’s pursuit of a centre-forward.
While the Gers would end up with Cyriel Dessers and Danilo, Nikola Krstovic jetted in at Lecce after a prolific spell at FC Dunajska Streda in Slovakia.
Rangers were linked with Montenegro international Krstovic at the time, before his £3.2 million switch to Italy. A fee he is now starting to repay with considerable interest. Krstovic’s emphatic brace in a 3-1 win over Empoli last time out took his tally to four goals in his last six Serie A outings.
Krstovic aims to develop into one of Europe’s elite centre-forwards, following in the footsteps of his idol Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
And with Lecce reportedly turning down a £12 million bid from Real Betis – they view him as unsellable with Serie A survival on the line – the jet-heeled Matondo should get a few months at least to add to his tally of assists alongside a striker who, in another world, could have joined him at Rangers instead.
“My idol is Ibrahimovic. I really like him as a person,” Krstovic explains. “I hope to become a top player, just that. Then, where I will be, I can’t imagine and I don’t think about it.
“For me, now, the only thing that matters is Lecce’s safety.”
- READ MORE: Rangers Transfer History 2016-Present
Philippe Clement dropped Matondo as Rangers beat Aberdeen
Clement would not be drawn on Matondo’s future when quizzed about the subject ahead of Rangers’ Scottish Cup clash with Fraserburgh on Sunday.
He did, however, admit that every player has his price.
And with Rangers still committed to signing Oscar Cortes permanently despite his injury-hit second spell in Glasgow, it seems unlikely that Matondo will need to fight his way towards the exit.
“I cannot give any update about loans or players going or not, until something is concrete,” Clement said in midweek. “And it’s not the case for the moment.
“I can say about Rabbi that I made a choice, a sportive choice today to put two young lads [Lovelace and Rice] because I think they are performing for the moment better.”
