Big Pressure On Rangers DOF If Big Money Signing Flops – Former Striker | OneFootball

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Former top-flight striker Andy Walker is not convinced about the pedigree of new Rangers signing Youssef Chermiti and believes that if he fails, there will be a lot of pressure on sporting director Kevin Thelwell.

The deal to take the young Portuguese forward up north, worth an initial £8m, was completed on deadline day and could cost Rangers a fee of £10m.

There is also a significant sell-on clause in the deal.

In the process, Chermiti has become the club’s second most expensive signing after Tore Andre Flo, who arrived in Glasgow almost 25 years ago.

The significant nature of the fee raised some eyebrows, given that during his two-year-long stay at Everton, Chermiti never managed to either score or set up a goal for his team-mates.

The onus of the signing is on the club’s sporting director, Thelwell, who also bought Chermiti while he was the director of football at Everton.

Walker, who is unconvinced about the 21-year-old’s pedigree to score goals on a regular basis, believes that if Chermiti fails, there will be a lot of pressure on Thelwell, who knows the player better than anyone else at Rangers.

Asked whether he is convinced about the pedigree of the player, Walker said on Go Radio (6.15): “Not at all.

“It puts a lot of pressure on Kevin Thelwell, who clearly has identified him, has knowledge of him.

“Whether at times he can do a job in the Scottish Premiership remains to be seen, but at this point, £8m is a hell of a lot to spend.

Drawing references from Celtic’s signing of Adam Idah and Arne Engels, Walker added: “There was Adam Idah, who scored 20 goals last year and the Celtic supporters were so critical of him.

“He was a £9m player, you can’t get away from the tag.

“Engels, an £11m player, he needs to show more.”

While manager Russell Martin cannot escape criticism for the signing, Walker insists that the buck stops with the former Everton official.

“I think with regard to Rangers, they are shelling out a lot of money on someone who doesn’t have a pedigree.

“Absolutely, it goes not only to Russell Martin, who you could imagine, approves the deal, but also to Thelwell, who has more knowledge than anyone of him.

“Because he was involved in bringing him to Everton.”

Chermiti’s first match in a Rangers shirt could be against Hearts this weekend in front of the home crowd and all eyes will be on him to see if there is any hint of a £10m player on show.