Glasgow Rangers were busy throughout the summer transfer window as Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ross Wilson shaped the squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
A host of players came in and others moved on to pastures new as the Light Blues attempted to improve their squad whilst dealing with the sales of both Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey.
One player who they ultimately opted to keep hold of instead of allowing him to move on was winger Fashion Sakala. He was linked with an exit from Ibrox to join English side Burnley in the summer and FFC published an article stating that the club should have cashed in on him as he did not appear to be in the manager’s plans for the season.
The attacker had not made a single appearance in the Premiership prior to the transfer deadline passing and only played one minute of their four qualifying matches for the Champions League.
Van Bronckhorst and Wilson ignored our advice and kept their faith in the Zambia international and now look set to reap the rewards of that decision, avoiding a mistake in the process.
He has played 114 minutes of action across three Premiership appearances since the start of September and has caught the eye for the Gers with one goal and one assist in that time. Sakala created two ‘big chances’ and won 56% of his individual duels in those three games, whilst averaging a SofaScore rating of 7.30 – placing him fourth in the squad.
The form isn’t mind-boggling but after a summer where it looked like he was going to be alienated altogether, the fact he is now churning out such impressive performances means the hierarchy has struck gold on their decision to keep him at Ibrox, particularly with Rabbi Matondo and Scott Wright failing to score at all from a similar position on the pitch.
The £8.3k-per-week forward was previously described as “selfless” by Steven Gerrard and ex-Gers full-back Alan Hutton once dubbed him a “firework” due to his pacey and energetic play, whilst also saying: “He’s one of these players who plays at 100 miles per hour, he takes players on, he’s aggressive, he can get shots off.”
He has the potential to be a spark in games with his speed and ability to chip in with goals and assists at the top end of the pitch. As Hutton said, he is a firework who can ignite at any moment and this makes him a useful player to call upon now that van Bronckhorst has brought him back into the picture.
Last season, he showed signs of promise as he scored 12 goals and provided seven assists in 50 appearances for Rangers in all competitions, although he failed to provide a goal contribution in any of his 11 Europa League outings.
It is now down to him to show more consistency in his performances and his displays in the Premiership so far this season suggest that he is on his way to doing that.
Hopefully, he can continue to put in strong displays and prove that van Bronckhorst hit the jackpot by keeping him in Glasgow, as he is currently doing with his showings in the top flight.
