This is another article that will divide fans: how do you solve a problem like Rabbi Matondo?

Brought in last summer to much fanfare, this was seen as a coup for the Mighty Gers. However for both the club & the young man (he was only 21 when he joined us, and is now 22) it has not worked out as expected.

Injury and lack of form have led to many fans calling for Rabbi to be sold or even released. But maybe I am in the minority here, but I think the boy deserves a chance to play for us next season. He has the opportunity in the remaining games to place down a marker for next season, as despite what has been said on other fan sites the incoming Kieran Dowell is not the same type of player as Matondo.

Matondo has a chance right now to stake a claim as the heir apparent to the left-wing spot that Kent will vacate in the coming weeks. The boy has pace in abundance, however what he does better than most is his ability to lay it off for his team-mates. He’s in control of what he is doing, he’s not a maverick like Sakala who doesn’t know what he is doing half the time.

Kent has a grand total of 8 assists this season from 44 games in total, a fairly poor return when you consider the level of the opposition we face most weeks – whereas Matondo has 4 assists in 23 appearances (only 6 of these were starts!!) While he’s not scored for us, he states from his time in Belgium also show that he can finish when given a chance (9 goals in 26 appearances in the Belgium league – a better standard than the SPL)

This is boy who has yet to make 100 professional appearances in club football, however there is no question of his talent. He can play anywhere across the front as required – which is something of use when you look at what we have in the squad. From the brief cameos in the past three games, he has shown more desire than the vast majority in the squad in those games played in.

As I said he divides opinion right now. But a word of caution, how do we afford/facilitate the release/sale of a player who is on £30K a week? This might prove problematic if he’s not wanted at Ibrox.

Despite the fans having their say on this, there is only one man who will decide Rabbi’s fate – and that’s the boss. If he doesn’t start the game at the weekend, then I would say it’s a sign he’s not wanted around these parts.