We at Ibrox Noise are genuinely sad at the sale of Oliver Antman to Anderlecht. While it is not secured and confirmed, they do appear to be the outright frontrunners. Rangers are open to the £5M sale of the Finnish international. As we say, we are not thrilled with how this one worked out. Oliver Antman Rangers exit is not our favourite.
Antman had everything Rangers needed
Antman’s abilities and attributes were outstanding in the Eredivisie. His contribution was well over 50% of goals and assists in his appearances. He was a strong player on the wing for the Dutch side.
As we have mentioned quite a few times, a Dutch football expert explained the situation at the time. Go Ahead Eagles would have to spend around £30M to replace what they had lost in him.
We do not think they ever did do that, of course. That price is well beyond any Dutch team, give or take.
However, the fact is that the boy had everything on paper that he needed to succeed at Rangers. His opening match or two looked outstanding as well.
Who could forget his debut against Pilsen in the Champions League with an assist and a goal? At the very least, he made a hugely impactful contribution.
He was strong and looked very much like a potentially world class winger for Rangers.
Russell Martin ruined Oliver Antman
Then Russell Martin properly got his hands on the boy and completely ruined him. He coached out all of the freedom, tenacity and aggressive running. He turned him into nothing more than a makeweight.
Basically, Russell Martin and his tactics completely killed Oliver Antman’s confidence.
When his successor, Russell Martin Mark II, came in, he was not interested in Antman from the start. He had absolutely no desire whatsoever to use a good player.
Put simply, Antman’s contribution and confidence reduced even further.
It was not until late into spring that he started to look like the player we originally saw. He came on as a substitute and played in front of Tuur Rommens.
However, it just did not click for him. Rohl and Martin never gave him the proper chance. For reasons best left unsaid, Antman just did not click at Rangers.
It is extremely unfortunate.
Derek McInnes accepts the situation
Antman has had quite a few appearances in preseason. Derek McInnes may have intended to use Oliver Antman.
However, Anderlecht submitted a bid of around £5M. Rangers agreed that perhaps it would be better to get players that McInnes actually wants.
This is not to say he did not want Antman. However, the Antman situation just did not click.
Therefore, everyone concerned felt he would benefit from a fresh start elsewhere.
Anderlecht are a colossal team in Belgium. We know that they are a big side and Antman will undoubtedly shine there.
He is an outstanding winger. He really is a very good attacker who simply found that circumstances went against him at Rangers.
Antman deserves success at Anderlecht
If he does indeed move to Anderlecht, we wish him the absolute best. As we said, we will feel very despondent that this one just did not work out when it really should have.
Everything was in place for this guy to be outstanding. He showed it in glimpses.
However, in the end, it just did not click. Rangers deem that Oliver Antman Rangers exit is probably wiser.
We will wish him the best and hope he does very well at Anderlecht. However, it does seem like Černý may well be coming in the other direction.
We suppose that is not the worst outcome in the end.