When Andreas Skov Olsen joined Rangers at the end of the January transfer window, he was viewed as a blockbuster marquee signing who would ignite the club’s title challenge.
A player with proven pedigree in the Champions League, as well as 40 caps for the Danish national team, his arrival on loan from Wolfsburg was rightly hailed as a coup.
All the more so given that the Ibrox outfit would have an option to buy him for a fee of £8million in the summer. On all fronts, it looked like very smart business.
This would not be another Abdallah Sima or Vaclav Cerny type of deal, two wingers who excelled during loan spells over previous seasons only to waltz off to pastures new.
It looked to be a no-brainer that Rangers would ultimately take up the Skov Olsen option. And yet, a month down the line, that doesn’t feel quite so certain any more.
Putting it bluntly, he has not been hitting the heights that were expected of him. Right now, he looks more like another Aaron Ramsey rather than the second coming of Brian Laudrup.
Andreas Skov Olsen still has it all to prove after a less than impressive start to his time at Ibrox
The Dane, above left, was substituted at half-time after he was largely anonymous against bottom club Livingston
Skov Olsen, above centre, arrived in January with Chukwuani and Rommens, and those two have already looked like better signings
Of course, it’s too early to cast any definitive judgment. Skov Olsen may well come good eventually. But it’s fair to say that a growing number of Rangers fans have been underwhelmed by his contribution so far.
In six appearances, he has managed one goal and one assist. Those numbers aren’t terrible. They are not brilliant either. They certainly don’t scream out that he is an £8m player.
Hooked at half-time in the 2-2 draw at Livingston last Sunday, he had been largely anonymous for the opening 45 minutes.
Mooted as a winger with craft and guile, with a wand of a left foot and an eye for goal, those are the type of games where he should be the difference-maker for Rangers.
That’s not to say that the whole team were terrible in West Lothian. Plainly, they weren’t. Livingston keeper Jerome Prior produced a series of outstanding saves and was rightly named man of the match.
Based on stats around the quality of chances, the xG, and Prior performing beyond all expectations, information from analytics firm Hudl Statsbomb states that Rangers would win that match 93 times out of 100 on average.
Granted, with a league title to win, you’d be more likely to find Greta Thunberg mixing the plastics and glass bottles in her wheelie bin than a Rangers fan who will listen to stuff about xG.
Ultimately, their team still dropped points. At this stage of the season, the result is all that matters. But that’s just what the data says. Don’t shoot the messenger and all that.
Skov Olsen made more of an impact in the win over Hearts, and has to do the same against Celtic on Sunday
The Danish winger still hasn’t shown that he would be worth an £8m outlay to join Rangers permanently in the summer
In all fairness, Skov Olsen had a decent game the previous weekend against Hearts, laying on an assist for Youssef Chermiti as Rangers claimed a vital win over their title rivals.
But the team undid much of that good work by dropping two points away from home against a Livingston side who sit bottom of the table with only one win all season.
Given how tight things are at the top, two points could be absolutely vital come the end of the season. In the fullness of time, a slip-up like Sunday’s could well be viewed as the day Rangers lost the title.
Skov Olsen has had decent moments over the past month. There is definitely a player in there. No one is saying the guy doesn’t have ability.
But he was brought to Rangers with a very clear purpose – to fire them to a league title. That would then see them fork out £8m to make him a permanent fixture.
With back-to-back Old Firm games against a wounded Celtic now coming up over the next couple of weeks, he still has time to show his worth.
But he does not look like the superstar we saw in the Champions League for Club Brugge a few years ago. Instead, he looks like the player Wolfsburg couldn’t wait to get rid of.
Skov Olsen was mooted as the man who could sweep Rangers to title, but fans are still to see those qualities
Rangers fans will be praying that Skov Olsen can lead them to victory against Celtic in title clash
Look at it another way. Rangers tooled-up for a title charge by signing four new players in January; Skov Olsen, Tochi Chukwuani, Tuur Rommens and Ryan Naderi.
Of those four players, who has made the biggest impact so far? Rommens looks to be an excellent purchase at left-back, while Chukwuani has impressed in midfield.
Naderi has added energy and a goal threat up front. Where does that leave Skov Olsen? He was supposed to be the blockbuster signing, but he’s lagging behind the other three in terms of his impact so far.
There’s a very real possibility that whoever loses the Old Firm clash at Ibrox on Sunday will effectively be knocked out of the title race.
That wasn’t part of the plan when Skov Olsen pitched up in Glasgow just over a month ago.
Not only is this a season-defining fortnight for Rangers. It’s a period that will determine whether Skov Olsen has a long-term future at the club.
Derek McInnes will NEVER get as good a chance as this to win Premiership title
After chalking up another three points against Falkirk, Derek McInnes was able to put his feet up last Sunday and watch the drama unfold on TV.
The Hearts boss would naturally have been delighted to see both title rivals dropp points after Celtic lost at home to Hibs and Rangers drew at Livingston.
McInnes will once again be a keen observer when the big two clash at Ibrox on Sunday, by which stage Hearts could be even further clear at the top if they beat Aberdeen at Tynecastle the day before.
It’s now getting to that point of the season where the only way Hearts don’t win the Premiership from here is if they somehow bottle it.
Derek McInnes is in an ideal position to lead his Hearts team to an historic title triumph
When Tony Bloom invested his money and started the Jamestown recruitment drive, he spoke openly about his ambition to shake up the natural order of Scottish football.
He made no secret of his desire to win the league title. But there’s now way he could have envisaged the opportunity would come around so quickly.
The stars have aligned for Hearts in a way that no-one thought possible.
If McInnes were to falter from here, would it be a black mark on his copybook in Bloom’s eyes? Even if the team have more title challenges in future, will they ever have a chance as good as this?
Any failure from here could see Bloom decide that McInnes is merely part of the journey, rather than the manager who can lead them to their final destination.
This might be as good a chance as McInnes ever gets to win a league title. Quite simply, it’s now or never.
All the more so given that he will instantly be the frontrunner to take over from Steve Clarke as Scotland manager after the World Cup in the summer.
