20 goals and Salah comparisons; Rangers will be wishing they’d signed £5m star now

One-time Rangers target Andreas Skov Olsen has taken his tally to 20 goals for the season with Ibrox’s one-that-got-away ‘the best player in Belgium’ these days. 

During the winter of 2022, Rangers set their sights on bringing a new winger to Ibrox. And while it’s fair to say that Amad Diallo’s short-lived spell north of the border did not go to plan, two of the players who were also in the sights of the Glasgow giants at the time have gone onto some pretty big things since slipping through the Gers net.

Take Albert Gudmundsson, for instance.

Available for £1 million back in 2022, the in-form Iceland international is now valued in excess of £30 million after blossoming in Serie A with Genoa. Andreas Skov Olsen, meanwhile, was reportedly the subject of a £5 million bid from Rangers when he too was playing his trade in Italy (Il Resto del Carlino).

Rangers wanted Andreas Skov Olsen in 2022

Unlike Gudmudsson, things did not work out for Skov Olsen in Serie A. Bologna’s loss – and Rangers’ too, you could argue – is most certainly Club Brugge’s gain these days, the free-scoring Denmark international taking his 2023/24 tally to 20 with a penalty in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over KRC Genk.

“I know Skov Olsen has what it takes,” Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand tells Het Laaste Nieuws, all-but confirming that the former Nordsjaelland starlet will be guaranteed a place in his Euro 2024 squad.

“With his deadly left foot, Skov Olsen remains intrinsically the best player in Belgium for me.”

That ‘deadly left foot’ has been responsible for many of Skov Olsen’s 20 goals and eight assists this season. It also goes some way to explaining why Skov Olsen – who loves to cut in from the right – has been likened to such modern-day luminaries as Mo Salah and Arjen Robben.

Philippe Clement still lacks a top right-winger

And the irony will not be lost on Rangers supporters that, while the club have found talented left-wingers relatively easy to come by of late, the right-sided spot arguably remains the weakest part of Philippe Clement’s team two years after Skov Olsen moved to Belgium rather than Scotland.

With Scott Wright largely ineffective and Ross McCausland’s form dipping after that outstanding pre-Christmas burst, Clement may be tempted to start Dujon Sterling – who joined as a full-back in the summer – on the right away to Benfica on Thursday.

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