Kris Commons feels Amad Diallo is starring ‘in the wrong movie’ with Rangers and may cost the Ibrox natives a chance to win back-to-back Premiership titles, via his Daily Mail column.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst hired the winger on loan from Manchester United for the rest of the term during January. Diallo then burst onto the Premiership scene by scoring just five-minutes into his debut against Ross County, but was unable to ensure it led to three-points.
His promising start saw Van Bronckhorst hand the 19-year-old another opening call away to Celtic in the Old Firm derby. Yet his afternoon only lasted the first-half, and has only played 22 league minutes since. Van Bronckhorst also left him an unused substitute against Hibs.
Another night on the bench followed for the Ivory Coast talent while the Gers beat Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League. And Diallo again sat among the backups at Dundee United on Sunday, before featuring for the final 17-minutes as Rangers targeted the likely winner.
Premiership challenge intimidating Diallo at Rangers
Van Bronckhorst introduced Diallo moments before Joe Aribo scored Rangers’ equaliser at Dundee United. The youngster then struggled to get a grip on proceedings, pulled out of a few 50-50 challenges and stopped running through after incorrectly sensing he was offside.
The challenge of a Premiership title fight appeared to be intimidating for Diallo during his latest Rangers outing. But the £19m former Atalanta prospect, who could end up costing Manchester United another £18m after add-ons, came to life late on and struck the post.
Diallo also delivered a dangerous cross into the Dundee United box that could have handed Rangers all three-points. Yet opting to shoot over passing to Fashion Sakala only to hit the post caught Commons’ eye. Now, the Celtic icon hints he could cost the Gers another title.
“Amad Diallo, he already looks like he’s in the wrong movie,” Commons wrote. “Just because Manchester United spent [up to] £37m on him, that’s no guarantee of success.
“He had a great chance late in the game and hit the post. He could have squared the ball to Sakala, who would have had a tap-in. That can be the difference in tight, stuffy games. Van Bronckhorst knows Rangers can’t afford many more days like this in the title race.”
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