UNBELIEVABLE NEWS;Rangers confirm the return of former flop

Rabbi Matondo moved to the German second tier side last month and Gers will be hoping they trigger purchase clause

Rangers fans were delighted to see Rabbi Matondo head for the Ibrox exit door last month – but the recruitment team could be faced with trying to offload the Wales winger all over again in the summer unless his new club get their act together.

The Light Blues are already going to have to take a hit on the 24-year-old misfit with German side Hannover 96 willing to pay £1million on a player who cost around £3m when he was signed under former Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst in 2022. However, the Ibrox club announced it was an initial loan move with German media outlet BILD reporting at the time that any permanent transfer was dependant on promotion to the Bundesliga.

And Rangers could be casting a nervous look towards the German second tier between now and the end of the season if Hannover’s current form is anything to go by. Matondo made a flying start to life at his new club with a late leveller in a 2-2 draw against then leaders Hamburg. But that was the first of four draws in a row, the latest a frustrating goalless stalemate against Kaiserslautern.

Matondo was hooked just after the hour mark by boss Andre Breitenreiter as his side dropped to eighth in Bundesliga 2. And it’s tight with just six points separating the top nine teams in the race for the two automatic promotion spots and third place for a promotion play-off place.

The Wales winger is under contract at Ibrox until 2026 and Rangers will be desperate for Hannover to trigger their purchase clause with the alternative seeing the player return for what would be the final season of his contract and likely a drop in valuation.