A January Transfer Failure: The Four Reasons Why Things Have Gone Wrong For Amad Diallo At Rangers

There was a lot of excitement when Amad Diallo joined Rangers on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window. The Ivorian had been signed by the Red Devils for a whopping £37m so there was a lot expected of him.

Things started out promisingly enough, with the teenager scoring minutes into his debut against Dundee in a 3-3 draw at Den’s Park. However, it must be said, it has been all downhill since then.

After being hauled off at half-time in the 3-0 defeat against Celtic in February, Diallo has not started another game since.

So where have things gone wrong for the winger? Press the next page as we look at four reasons why his transfer has failed to live up to expectations.

1) Questions About His Ability And Hunger Summed Up In One Match

The 1-1 draw against Dundee United back in February led to many making their minds up on the Ivorian pretty early. He made an impact on the game as a substitute but for all the wrong reasons.

In the space of 20 minutes, Diallo hesitated when in on goal (believing he was offside), he pulled out of a 50/50 challenge, whilst deciding against squaring it to Fashion Sakala before missing a chance to win the game himself. People shouldn’t judge players off the back of one game but the fact that he has only made two brief substitute appearances since then tells you what the coaching staff think about him.

2) Diallo Lacks The Physicality For Scottish Football

It may be unfair to blame someone who is 19 for being lightweight, but there are other teenagers who do have the strength to keep older, more physically robust players from pushing them off the ball.

Diallo does look like a kid playing against men, and Scottish football isn’t a place where you can thrive without being able to throw your weight around. Perhaps if he had joined the Gers when he was a few years older, things would have been different.

3) Van Bronckhorst Does Not Trust Him

The Gers boss is under a lot of pressure to get results. The club have fallen six points behind Old Firm rivals Celtic in the race for the title, while they are still in contention in the Europa League.

Van Bronckhorst needs players he can trust to do the job required. Diallo’s inexperience and inconsistency means he was always going to be overlooked if things got tough during the run-in.

4) Other Players Have Simply Performed Better Than Diallo

Diallo was effectively a replacement for the injured Ianis Hagi but van Bronckhorst has opted to play the likes of Joe Aribo, Scott Arfield and even Scott Wright on the right-wing.

While it could be argued that none of the three have really made the position their own in Hagi’s absence, it seems their performances have impressed van Bronckhorst more than Diallo’s, who is now firmly down the pecking order.

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