It has been mostly confirmed that Rangers’ eighth signing of the summer will be Olwethu Makhanya. The South African international has only one cap. His country called him up for the World Cup campaign, but he did not feature.
Makhanya did not feature at World Cup
Curiously, much more has been made of the fact that he did not play for his country at the World Cup. Far less was made of his future teammate Ivor Pandur being in exactly the same position with Croatia.
However, it would also be safe to say that Croatia are probably a stronger international team than South Africa. Nevertheless, our new boy Olwethu Makhanya did not feature for his country and has only one cap.
He is 22 and plays in MLS. It is difficult to say that this is the shiny, sparkling defender Rangers fans perhaps hoped for.
We were linked with this chap, who currently plays for Philadelphia Union, a week or two ago. He was a name out of the hat whom nobody had heard of.
We cannot say that too many supporters were overwhelmed by the gravity of this lad.
Disciplinary record causes concern
We are sure he is a reasonably decent player, but there is a big problem with Makhanya. His disciplinary record is absolutely abominable.
This boy receives red and yellow cards like they are going out of fashion. In the maelstrom and chaos of Scottish football, this may prove a very curious and risky signing. He’s had 14 yellow cards and 4 reds in the past two seasons alone. Not great.
As we say, he is only 22 years of age. He has played almost all his football in MLS with Philadelphia Union.
He did not return for the summer preseason camp, much like Nico Raskin after the World Cup. His manager confirmed this and said it was for personal reasons.
Clearly, he was negotiating his deal and move to Rangers.
Rangers pay significantly above market value
Our further concern comes with the price. This lad has a market value of £1.5M, but Rangers are reportedly paying £5M.
There are shades of Emmanuel Fernandez in terms of his market value and the price Rangers paid. We cannot say Fernandez has necessarily provided value for money unless Rangers sell him for a colossal sum.
As yet, that has not materialised. While he has shown moments in defence and scored some goals, his maiden season did not truly stand out.
That remains the case despite the fact that he won Fans’ Player of the Year.
Nevertheless Olwethu Makhanya appears to be the third defender. Essentially, he will replace John Souttar.
We do need another body, and it seems this lad is coming in fairly quickly.
McInnes selects his third defender
The fact is that this is not the most overwhelming signing. He is not exactly a high profile, high value player who will become an absolute mainstay in Rangers’ defence.
We cannot look at him and see anything much better than either Godfrey or Fernandez. However, this is McInnes’ choice.
This is a McInnes signing, and he clearly wants this guy. Of course, Rangers lost out on Diawara to Milan, and this appears to be Plan B.
Is it an ideal Plan B? Perhaps not. However, Rangers continually recruit, earmark and track many players.
Consequently, Makhanya will arrive soon and become Rangers’ third defender. At least it gives Rangers another body in that area.
However, we are unsure whether he is much better than Clinton Nsiala, in all honesty.
Time will tell, and this is a McInnes choice. Therefore, of course, as much caution as we are showing here, we will still be right behind him.