AdminGlasgow Rangers will have to wait at least another year to end their long wait for a Scottish Premiership title after their Old Firm defeat on Sunday.
The Light Blues were beaten 3-1 by their rivals, after taking the lead through Mikey Moore, and Danny Rohl is the first manager since Dick Advocaat in 2000 to lose three successive league matches.
Talk before the game suggested that Mohamed Diomande could have been played in a deeper position to act as their own version of Callum McGregor in the middle of the park.
Instead of doing that, Rohl unleashed the Ivorian as an attacking midfielder and it led to an underwhelming performance by the left-footed talent against Celtic.
Diomande ended the game with zero shots, zero dribbles, zero crosses, zero key passes, and zero ‘big chances’ created, as he failed to make an impact in possession as an attacking force.
Rangers join the race to sign £10m central midfielder
The Light Blues could dip into the transfer market to sign another attack-minded central midfield talent in the summer because of Diomande’s struggles in that role this season.
That may be why the Scottish giants are reportedly looking at a midfield star who would arrive at Ibrox as an upgrade on the 24-year-old Gers ace.
According to Football Insider, Glasgow Rangers have joined the race to sign Schalke central midfielder Soufiane El-Faouzi in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Gers and Celtic have both shown an interest in signing the 23-year-old star in the off-season, but they face an uphill task to secure his signature.
It states that Schalke will demand a fee of £10m for the midfield talent’s services and that Premier League side Sunderland are also interested in him.
This means that the Black Cats could blow Celtic and Rangers out of the water financially if they formalise their interest, even if the Gers could see a bid of £10m accepted for El-Faouzi.
How Soufiane El-Faouzi would be an upgrade on Mohamed Diomande
Rohl should push the Gers board to splash out a fee that would be their biggest since they paid £12m to sign Tore Andre Flo in 2000, because the German maestro could be a brilliant addition to the squad.
Rangers’ most expensive signings of all time
The Gers now have new owners in the 49ers Enterprises.
Rangers already raided the 3. Liga to sign Ryan Naderi from Hansa Rostock in January, and they now need to raid the 2. Bundesliga to bring El-Faouzi to Ibrox, despite Schalke’s promotion to the Bundesliga.
His form for Schalke in the 2025/26 campaign suggests that he would provide the creativity and invention that they have lacked when Diomande has played in the number ten role.
| 25/26 season | El-Faouzi (2. BL) | Diomande (SPL) |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 33 | 29 |
| Goals | 2 | 1 |
| Big chances created | 11 | 3 |
| xA | 6.89 | 1.45 |
| Tackles per game | 3.0 | 1.4 |
| Interceptions per game | 1.2 | 0.4 |
The £10m-rated star, who was described as a “standout” by journalist Florian Plettenberg earlier this season, has created more than three times as many ‘big chances’ as Diomande and almost five times as much xA.
El-Faouzi has shown that he can create high-quality chances for his teammates on a regular basis, which is the exact kind of quality Rangers need when breaking down stubborn defences in the biggest games and against sides that sit back in low blocks.
It is not just in possession as a creative force that the German star would be an upgrade on Diomande for Rangers, though, as he has also been more impressive than the Ivorian talent off the ball.
He has averaged 4.2 tackles and interceptions per game in the 2. Bundesliga, compared to Diomande’s 1.8 per match in the Premiership, which suggests that El-Faouzi is more likely to break up opposition attacks with key defensive interventions on a regular basis.
Therefore, Rohl could land a big upgrade for his midfield by pushing for this deal to get done because of the creative and defensive attributes that the Schalke star would bring to Ibrox.
It is now down to the club to convince the £10m-rated star to walk away from the opportunity to play in the Bundesliga in order to complete a move to Scotland this summer.
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