Left under Gerrard: Rangers may rue selling star who's outscoring Danilo

Glasgow Rangers manager Philippe Clement is hanging on to his job by the thinnest of threads.

The 1-0 Scottish Cup defeat to Queen’s Park a couple of weeks ago should have been the final straw, yet he was still in charge for the clash against Hearts in the Premiership on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the Light Blues winning 3-1 at Tynecastle, courtesy of two own goals by Jamie McCart, the performance was hardly anything to be proud of.

Not only did Hearts create more big chances (five vs one) and take more shots (21 vs 15) during the game, but they also took more corners (ten vs seven) and made more passes (422 vs 385) during the match than the Ibrox side.

They were certainly extremely lucky to come away from the capital with all three points, that’s for sure.

Several players failed to perform to the levels we have seen over the previous few weeks, notably Hamza Igamane. The striker failed to get a shot on target throughout the game, while completing only 15 passes and taking 49 touches of the ball.

Since his goal against Aberdeen last month, the youngster has been a shadow of his former self in front of goal, failing to score since.

The manager will be hoping Danilo can recover from his injury swiftly to give the Moroccan star a rest, perhaps taking some pressure off of him.

Danilo hasn’t exactly endured the best of times since joining Rangers in the summer of 2023, but when fit, there is plenty to admire about his game.

Danilo’s Rangers statistics

Michael Beale spent a lavish sum of money on signing the Brazilian centre-forward from Feyenoord, around £6m to be exact.

For this outlay, the Ibrox faithful were expecting someone who could slot straight into the starting XI and make a huge difference in the final third.

Under Beale, he started just three times for the Gers, scoring just three goals, and it looked as though it was yet another waste of money, especially when he spent weeks on the sidelines after suffering a broken cheekbone in September 2023.

Under Clement, Danilo began to show the form expected of him, netting three goals and grabbing five assists, although disaster struck in December as a knee injury sustained against Hearts kept him out for the remainder of the season.

Despite taking longer than usual to return to full fitness, the 25-year-old scored six goals along with recording three assists between August and the start of January.

Against Aberdeen last month, Danilo suffered a shoulder injury and this has kept him out ever since. These setbacks are hampering any progress the striker is making on the pitch, which in turn, prevents him from building up consistency.

When healthy, there is no doubt Danilo is the finest centre-forward at Ibrox, but he is of no use when on the treatment table.

The Light Blues have sold their fair share of strikers since Steven Gerrard took over way back in 2018. Some have struggled since leaving Glasgow, while others have sparkled, fulfilling their potential outside the pressures faced at Ibrox.

Ryan Hardie certainly belongs in the latter category, enjoying a wonderful career south of the border.

Ryan Hardie’s time at Rangers

Hardie came through the youth ranks at Rangers, going on to make his senior debut for the club during their spell in the Championship, scoring twice in just five games in 2014/15.

Spells on loan at Raith Rovers (14 goals), St Mirren (three goals) and Livingston (15 goals) between 2016 and 2019 did allow him to gain plenty of game time at senior level, but it became clear that he wasn’t going to make the grade at Ibrox, despite his talents.

As such, Gerrard sold the Scottish forward to Blackpool for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2019.

Hardie hasn’t looked back since…

Ryan Hardie’s record since leaving Rangers

His initial spell with Blackpool was hardly a success, netting just once in 12 appearances for the club, but a move to Plymouth in January 2020 turned out to be a match made in heaven.

Since that move, Hardie has scored an impressive tally of 69 goals in 237 games for the club, helping them secure promotion back to the Championship during the 2022/23 season.

His first in the second tier produced 13 goals in 44 matches as the Pilgrims retained their status in the Championship. While he struggled to get going under Wayne Rooney earlier this term, new coach Miron Muslic has brought out the best in the 27-year-old.

Indeed, across his previous four matches, Hardie has netted five goals, including a stunning winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup a few weeks ago.

Scottish content creator Kai Watson hailed the former Gers striker after the clash against the Premier League title challengers, stating that he is now “thriving” following the change in the dugout.

Overall this season, he has scored seven goals for Plymouth in 29 games, chipping in with two assists.

If he maintains this current form, there is no reason why he cannot break through into double figures, while helping his club move up the table in the process.

These seven goals are also a bigger tally than what Danilo has recorded so far this season. That’s not to say Hardie is better than the Brazilian, which would be rather disingenuous given the circumstances, but it proves that perhaps Gerrard should have given him a chance.

If so, he might have proven the former Liverpool captain wrong and remained as a squad player.

His move down south has worked out better than anyone expected, especially after a rough start at Blackpool.

Under Muslic, Hardie has the opportunity to push on and become even better.

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