Rangers summer signing backed to make the club big bucks as rapid star's instant impact could unlock fortunes

One Rangers signing has been backed to become the club’s next big money departure.

The Light Blues have sold Nathan Patterson and Calvin Bassey in recent seasons for big fees with former striker Kevin Kyle believing centre-back Olwethu Makhanya could be next. He has slotted seamlessly into defence since arriving from MLS side Philadelphia Union and impressed again during last week’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final win over Celtic.

Makhanya has been credited with taking pressure off Emmanuel Fernandez beside him with all the traits needed to move to another level. Kyle said: “Makhanya’s come in, and he’s been outstanding. He could potentially be the kind of next…the kind of signings that Celtic have made and moved on for bigger money. He could be that version for Rangers.

Why could Olwethu Makhanya be sold for big money by Rangers?

“He’s come into the club and basically been thrown into the deep end straight away. I’m not convinced that he was brought in to be a guaranteed starter straight away. Ben Godfrey was obviously the one, along with Fernandez. What you’ll probably find, I think, over time, it might be Makhanya and Godfrey together.

“Makhanya’s got all the attributes, he can head the ball, he can pass the ball, he’s aggressive in the tackle, he’s quite quick. So for me, over the next lot of weeks, you’ll probably hear people talk more about Makhanya than Fernandez, which might then in turn help Fernandez in a roundabout way because the focus then isn’t on him, and he can maybe relax a little bit.”

McInnes said recently of the summer import from Philadelphia Union: "He's come from MLS, a different type of football, we've seen a lot of games in MLS and it's slow and pedestrian-like.

Derek McInnes on Olwethu Makhanya

“What we did like about him when we watched him was his ability to go man-for-man, his ability to not lose a foot race. There's a calmness on the ball. It's a different type of football, obviously, in the MLS, you don't get that sort of experience here. But I do think he's dealt with everything we've asked him.

“I think it's right that you mention it, to be honest. I think he's come in where the team's not been at its best. He's coming from the outside in and just trying to settle in. I think there's a lot of them in that sense. Those adjustments, there's a lot of young players, a lot of players sign that we're trying to integrate and get those sort of connections. But he's done that really well. I think there's a lot more to come from him as well."

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