Clement may have unearthed his own John McGinn with £4.5m Rangers star

Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement may have bought himself some time after the excellent victory over Nice in the Europa League in midweek.

He is still under pressure, but if he can somehow turn around the club’s fortunes between now and January, he could be given the window to bring in new players.

His record in the market hasn’t been great, although there have been a few standouts.

Clement’s best Rangers signings

Vaclav Cerny can lay claim to being one of the Belgian’s best signings this season, scoring eight times and chipping in with five assists across 20 games for the Gers.

He may only be on loan, but could the board convince him to join permanently?

Nedim Bajrami is another attacking player who joined in the summer. Costing around £3.4m, the Albanian has made an impressive start to life in Glasgow, adding some class to an attack that was stagnating.

In Europe, the former Sassuolo midfielder has created six big chances, averaged 2.4 key passes and succeeded with 2.6 dribbles per game, indicating how vital he has been in the final third.

Both have been crucial at times this season. In terms of future potential, however, Mohamed Diomande has the ability to star at the very highest level. The onus is now for the Ivorian to produce the goods on a more consistent basis for the Gers.

Mohamed Diomande’s stats vs Nice

The midfielder delivered one of his most impressive displays of the season against Nice, just when it mattered most. Not only did he get on the scoresheet, but Diomande also won 50% of his total duels, attempted two dribbles and made two tackles as he shone at the heart of the midfield for the Light Blues.

It was a performance which hasn’t been on show over the previous few months, despite his seemingly limitless potential. Hailed as “aggressive” by analyst John Walker upon his arrival, more displays like this in the future could attract some attention.

He certainly has the required attributes to compete in the Premier League and is even similar to Aston Villa and Scotland star John McGinn, according to FBref, among those in his position across Europe.

The Scot – who, like Diomande, is an attack-minded, left-footed midfielder – has been one of Unai Emery’s key players since the Spaniard took charge in October 2022 and Clement could unearth his very own version of the former Hibernian starlet in Diomande.

Indeed, this season, the pair have registered similar statistics across several metrics, such as shots per 90 (1.65 vs 1.86), tackles won (15 vs nine), shot-creating actions per 90 (2.35 vs 2.93) and successful take-on percentage per 90 (53.8% vs 41.2%) in both domestic and European competition this term.

The £4.5 signing from FC Nordsjaelland has demonstrated his qualities in spells since moving to Rangers at the start of the year, with the hope that he can reach similar levels to that of McGinn.

The experienced asset left Hibs for just £2m back in 2018, yet is now deemed to be worth £26m, according to Transfermarkt, and is the fifth-highest scorer in his nation’s history.

As for Diomande, following the stunning display against Nice, this could be the start of something special, performing at a level which could see the club’s fortunes change in the next couple of months.

Clement has his own McGinn at his fingertips, no doubt about that.