Glasgow Rangers head of recruitment Nils Koppen has been hard at work during the summer transfer window so far to land new signings for the squad.
Oscar Cortes, Jefte, Clinton Nsiala, Liam Kelly, and Connor Barron have all put pen to paper on deals with the Scottish giants, whilst Hamza Igamane is reportedly set to join them.
The Light Blues have also been linked with interest in the likes of Motherwell centre-forward Theo Bair, free agent attacking midfielder Callum O’Hare, and Norwich midfielder Kenny McLean.
Another player the Gers have been linked with is an attacking left-back who could be a dream partner for Rabbi Matondo down the left flank next season.
Rangers’ interest in free agent whiz
HITC recently reported that Rangers are one of the teams eyeing up a possible swoop to sign Ryan Sessegnon on a bargain free transfer this summer.
The report revealed that the former England U21 international, who was once hailed as “fantastic” by ex-boss Jose Mourinho, is available on a free after Tottenham Hotspur decided not to extend his deal with the Premier League side.
Philippe Clement and Koppen are said to have ‘checked in’ to enquire about his potential availability, amid interest from a host of other clubs.
West Ham United, Fulham, Atalanta, Monzo, Leeds, and Real Betis, among others, are also said to be keeping a close eye on his situation as they weigh up a swoop for his services.
This shows that there is serious competition to land Sessegnon’s signature ahead of the 2024/25 campaign and it remains to be seen whether or not Rangers have a realistic chance of tempting him to make the move to Ibrox.
If the Scottish giants can convince him to link-up with Clement’s squad this year, though, then they could land a dream partner for Matondo on the wing.
Why Ryan Sessegnon would be a dream for Rabbi Matondo
The Wales international showed glimpses of his mercurial quality during the 2023/24 campaign as he scored five goals in seven league starts for the Light Blues.
Those five strikes came from an xG of just 2.93 and this speaks to the quality of his goals, with his trademark finish being a curling shot from distance after cutting in on his favoured foot.
As you can see in the clip above, Matondo loves to come in from the left flank to bend a shot into the far top corner and Sessegnon’s presence could provide him with more chances to use that.
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Ryan Sessegnon vs full-backs |
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|---|---|
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22/23 Premier League (per 90) |
Percentile rank |
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Non-penalty goals (0.22) |
Top 4% |
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xAG (0.12) |
Top 20% |
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Shot-creating actions (2.55) |
Top 19% |
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Progressive carries (2.66) |
Top 21% |
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Touches in attacking box (2.99) |
Top 7% |
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Stats via FBref |
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The English full-back, as you can see in the table above, ranked highly among his positional peers in a host of attacking metrics in the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Sessegnon had also produced 25 goals and 19 assists in 120 appearances in all competitions for Fulham earlier in his career, prior to his move to Spurs.
The free agent, who is a risk after missing 40 matches through injury last term, is a left-back who can burst forward to provide a strong attacking threat with his ability to score and create goals.
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This could make opposition defenders put more thought into marking him and following his runs, which could then open up more space for Matondo to then take advantage of the defender focusing on Sessegnon and cut inside to fire in more shots from his favoured position.
Therefore, the full-back would be a bargain free signing due to his potential, at the age of just 24, and his proven attacking quality at Premier League level, which could help the Welshman to thrive.
