Forgotten Rangers duo could be ready to shine for Michael Beale

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Forgotten Rangers duo could be ready to shine for Michael Beale
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MAY 13: Michael Beale, Head Coach of Rangers FC, looks on prior to the Cinch Premiership match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium on May 13, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

If two men seem to have been completely forgotten at Ibrox it’s Wales internationals Rabbi Matondo and Tom Lawrence.

Rangers signed these two last season for a combined cost of £3M (Matondo; Lawrence a free) and it’s safe to say there’s not been much return for that outlay, as Lawrence missed the whole season through injury after a solid start, while Matondo struggled for form then he himself lost three months through injury too.

Are these two part of Michael Beale’s plans moving forward?

Rangers’ attacking areas are currently poor – Ryan Kent is gone, and the established wing options are now non-existent.

That Rabbi Matondo is Rangers’ main winger choice shows how weak our player choice there is – and this is why we wonder if Michael Beale is dumping wingers altogether, more on that later.

But he and Lawrence lost their seasons completely – and yet despite this both of them have good CVs. Matondo played plenty in Belgium’s top flight, and in Germany’s too, plus has a chunk of caps for his country, while Lawrence’s club experience was decent in the Championship with Derby and similarly has quite a few appearances for Wales.

What Rangers need is options – fit, healthy and solid options, and both of these two fit, healthy and raring to go could be surprise ‘extra’ signings next season, bonus players who might feel like completely new additions.

But of course, it depends on both of them staying fit. It also depends on Beale finding a role for them both.

Matondo once had a market value of around £10M, yes really. So there’s clearly something there, something which stalled horrible in Germany.

Lawrence himself also has a good market value, around £6M, and his main position is a hybrid of a 10 and a left winger, so if he can get and stay fit, he might be a ready-made replacement for Kent.

We feel it should be a tabula rasa this summer. Matondo and Lawrence, our Welsh Wing Wizards (we hope) could have a renaissance at Ibrox and finally start to show us the talent which persuaded the former scouting team to invest in them.

We just want options.

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