Rangers’ £4m Chukwuani problem looks worse than Dessers

Rangers have endured plenty of questionable transfer decisions in recent years, with a number of expensive recruits failing to deliver consistently at Ibrox.

The Light Blues have not lifted the Scottish Premiership title since the 2020/21 campaign, while their last major trophy came in 2024 when Philippe Clement guided the club to League Cup success.

Since then, Rangers have continued to invest heavily in their squad, but several signings have struggled to provide the level of performances expected of players brought in for significant fees.

Cyriel Dessers remains one of the more debated examples.

The Nigerian forward was never universally accepted during his time in Glasgow, despite producing a respectable goalscoring record. However, one of Rangers’ more recent signings is now struggling to make the same sort of impact Dessers managed.

Why Dessers divided opinion at Ibrox

Dessers arrived at Rangers from Cremonese in the summer of 2023 after Michael Beale sanctioned a deal worth around £4.5m.

The striker eventually left the club with 52 goals and 17 assists from 116 appearances in all competitions across just over two seasons.

On the surface, those figures represent a substantial contribution, but his overall performances frequently divided opinion.

His Premiership numbers illustrate why.

Dessers scored 16 league goals in his first season and followed that with 18 in 2024/25. His minutes-per-goal figures improved from 143 to 118, while his conversion rate increased from 16 per cent to 22 per cent.

However, there were also significant shortcomings.

He missed 26 big chances in the Premiership during his first season and another 20 the following campaign, meaning 46 big chances went begging across the two years.

His physical numbers were also underwhelming. Dessers won just 29 per cent of his ground duels in 2023/24 and 34 per cent the following season, while his aerial-duel success dropped from 40 per cent to 31 per cent.

His European record further contributed to the debate surrounding his performances. Across 19 Europa League appearances, Dessers scored four times but missed ten big chances.

So, while it would be unfair to describe his Rangers spell as a complete failure given his goal contribution, there was enough inconsistency to explain why he remained such a divisive figure among supporters.

Chukwuani has a major problem under McInnes

Rangers may now have a more pressing value-for-money concern in the form of Tochi Chukwuani.

The midfielder joined the club from Sturm Graz in January after Danny Rohl identified him as a player capable of strengthening the centre of the pitch.

Rangers reportedly paid around £4.3m for the Danish midfielder, putting his transfer fee only £200,000 below the amount spent on Dessers.

The issue for the Ibrox side is that Chukwuani has struggled to establish himself since Derek McInnes replaced Rohl in the summer.

Under Rohl, the 23-year-old was a regular starter during the second half of last season. He made 15 Premiership appearances, starting 13, and scored twice, including during the 6-3 victory over Falkirk.

His performances have taken a different direction under McInnes, however.

Chukwuani has been restricted to just seven Premiership appearances this season and has started only a handful of matches. He was an unused substitute in Rangers’ League Cup victory over Celtic and managed just two minutes from the bench during the subsequent 1-0 Premiership win over their city rivals.

He has also been left on the bench without being used against Motherwell, Aberdeen, Hibernian and Dundee United.

That leaves him well behind Nicolas Raskin, Cammy Devlin and Dan Neil in the current midfield hierarchy.

The numbers make uncomfortable reading

Chukwuani’s early Premiership statistics this season offer little evidence that he is close to forcing his way back into McInnes’ starting XI.

The midfielder has won just 25 per cent of his ground duels and 43 per cent of his aerial contests, while completing 71 per cent of his attempted passes.

Those numbers need to be viewed in the context of his limited playing time, but they nevertheless underline why McInnes has not been inclined to use him regularly.

That is particularly concerning given the financial investment Rangers made in the player.

The £4.3m fee is significant for a midfielder who is currently struggling to get onto the pitch, and his wages will add further expense to the overall cost of the deal.

Dessers, for all his shortcomings, at least provided Rangers with a substantial return in front of goal.

Chukwuani has not yet come close to producing a comparable impact.

January could become important for Chukwuani

There is still plenty of time for Chukwuani to change the situation.

He was trusted regularly during the second half of last season, which suggests that there is a player within the Rangers squad capable of making an impact if he can rediscover that level of form.

But McInnes has already demonstrated that he is willing to look elsewhere in midfield.

With Raskin, Devlin and Neil currently ahead of him, Chukwuani faces a battle simply to regain regular involvement.

If that does not happen before the January transfer window, Rangers could find themselves having to consider what comes next for a player who cost more than £4m less than a year ago.

Dessers’ Rangers career may have been frustrating and inconsistent, but his goals ensured that he left behind a sizeable contribution.

Chukwuani currently has much more work to do to justify a similar level of investment.