Andy Halliday backs new Rangers signing as he makes £42m...

Andy Halliday backs new Rangers signing as he makes £42m Manchester United point

Rafael Fernandes joins Rangers a year after his last league appearance, which is a sharp contrast to

players like Connor Barron, Robin Propper, and Nedim Bajrami, who are regulars in the starting lineups at Aberdeen,

FC Twente, and Sassuolo, respectively.

Actually, Fernandes’ last outing was a year ago on Tuesday. In January 2024, Arouca defeated Vizela 5-0 in

the first division of Portugal.

Since then, the 6′ 3″ center-half has made a total of zero Ligue 1 matches while wearing the red shirt of LOSC Lille, landing a

£2.5 million move to France before arriving in Glasgow.

Therefore, the more pessimistic Rangers supporters are asking why Rafael Fernandes didn’t make an impression on Lille’s first squad.

Andy Halliday, a former Rangers midfielder, is taking a different, more optimistic stance on the situation.

He contends that Leny Yoro was starting every week and making a name for himself as possibly the

best young defensive player in European football during Fernandes’ first few months at the Stade Pierre Mauroy.

Yoro found himself in the midst of a transfer tug of war that following summer, Manchester United eventually

outmuscling Real Madrid while paying an initial £42 million for the rangy Frenchman.

And while Fernandes remained out on the outside looking in following Yoro’s departure to Old Trafford,

that owes much to the form of Bafode Diakite in that right-sided central defensive berth.

Fernandes is the only new face at Ibrox, so Halliday is disappointed by the amount of Rangers acquisitions this winter,

but he isn’t too worried about who that new signing will be.

“Rangers has signed one player. “It’s unbelievable,” Halliday starts.

“Leny Yoro, who Man United paid 50 million [euros] for, is one of the lads that were preventing Fernandes from playing.

“Diakite is another boy.” To be fair, he is being excluded from the team by appropriate players.

Technical director Nils Koppen labels the former Portugal Under-21 international another ‘young, exciting’ addition to follow

on from Hamza Igamane, Jefte and Connor Barron.

While a former Sporting Lisbon coach praises the Rangers rookie’s “very good technique” with the ball at his feet,

Rafael Fernandes brings a “remarkable” ambition for self-improvement to Ibrox.

Similar to how he eased Hamza Igamane into life in Scotland, Philippe Clement is eager to keep

Rafael Fernandes in reserve until he is ready to leave.

There is no guarantee that Fernandes will ever truly adapt, of course. Both Halliday and one-time Rangers man Ian McCall

argue that, while Robin Propper has impressed in the Europa League of late, his form on the domestic stage still leaves more questions than answers.

“I think it takes people time to acclimatise to Scottish football, I really do,” McCall says. “But he doesn’t look quick,

he doesn’t look powerful. But he must be a decent player. You don’t play at the levels he has before [without having some talent].

“I actually thought he was really good against Man United,” Halliday adds, Propper impressing as Bruno Fernandes’ stoppage

time winner broke Rangers hearts at Old Trafford. “But does he suit the domestic football?

“I don’t know.”