Rangers, Danny Rohl may taste Sheffield Wednesday frustration - it involves Djeidi Gassama | OneFootball

Djeidi Gassama left Sheffield Wednesday for Rangers in the summer, but he may be set to leave Ibrox after just half a season with the Scottish giants.

Former Sheffield Wednesday winger Djeidi Gassama could be on his way from Rangers, and that could be frustrating for the Owls' former manager Danny Rohl, with whom he was reunited at Ibrox.

Among the many people who left Sheffield Wednesday during the summer as the club started to collpase around them, two of the most significant were head coach Danny Rohl and winger Djeidi Gassama.

Rohl left the club as the ultimate result of a falling-out with the club's soon-to-be former owner Dejphon Chansiri at the end of July, when it became clear that there were issues with the players and staff over his refusal to return to Hillsborough after the end of the 2024-25 season, missing the first two weeks of their pre-season.

Gassama's departure from Sheffield Wednesday came a fortnight before the confirmation that Rohl would be leaving the club, while the club were in managerial limbo, when he signed a deal with the Scottish giants Rangers.

The pair were reunited at Ibrox in October, when Rohl was appointed as the head coach at Rangers following the dismissal of Russell Martin after a disastrous start to their 2024-25 SPFL season. But it now seems likely that Gassama and Rohl could be separated again.

It's been reported by journalist Rudy Galleti that Djeidi Gassama is now on the radar of the Spanish club Villareal. He has posted to his account on the social media platform X that the Spanish club have identified as a potential target for the January transfer window.

Expanding on this in an article on his Substack, he confirms that "Gassama has attracted attention from several important clubs, including Villarreal", and that "the club’s scouting department has identified Gassama as a dynamic, fast and creative winger who fits perfectly with the style of play that the Yellow Submarine want to develop."

Potential Djeidi Gassama, Rangers exit could give Danny Rohl a taste of Sheffield Wedneday frustrations

Djeidi Gassama certainly made an impact upon his arrival at Ibrox, scoring on his debut for them in a 2-0 Champions League qualifier win against the Greek side Panathinaikos. Rangers won that tie 3-1 on aggregate, but two rounds later they were eliminated from the competition, beaten 9-1 on aggregate by Club Brugge.

This result was a sign that things weren't working out well for the former Southampton manager Russell Martin. Things were going, if anything, even worse in the SPFL, and Martin was sacked after just 17 games and their worst start to a season in decades.

Rangers turned their attention back to Hillsborough for Martin's replacement. Danny Rohl had taken Sheffield Wednesday to 12th place in the Championship in 2024-25 and had left the club with his coaching reputation intact. But it now seems possible that he could be losing Gassama in the January transfer window.

Of course, with the player contracted to the Scottish giants until 2029, there is no obligation on the part of Rangers to sell him, but Gassama's performances have not always been at the level of his explosive start against Panathinaikos. He's continued to be a generally good performer, but as can be seen from his statistics, he's also had significant dips, with low ratings for matches against Ferencvaros and Roma in the Europa League.

The winger has shown glimpses of real quality in a malfunctioning Rangers team but, at 22 years of age, it does feel that his very best could yet still be to come.

This was also the case at Sheffield Wednesday, where he was a clear favourite and impressed, but he was prised away from the club before he could truly realise his potential with them. It might now be that he gets another opportunity to realise that potential in Spain rather than Scotland, if Villareal make an offer for him in January that turns Rangers heads.