4/10 Rangers man just sealed his fate under McInnes after Dundee Utd
Glasgow Rangers have not won on the opening day in the Scottish Premiership since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, after they were held to a 1-1 draw on Friday night.
The Light Blues failed to get past Dundee United, who took the lead in the match, as they were unable to build on a sublime equaliser from Thelo Aasgaard, who rifled the ball in with his left foot.
Derek McInnes will surely have been left disappointed with several individual displays throughout the match, but the Norway international was a standout performer.
The former Luton Town star began the game in the number ten position behind Lawrence Shankland before moving over to the left flank in the second half.
Where Derek McInnes went wrong against Dundee United
A fair few supporters were left confused when the club’s social accounts dropped the team news, as it was revealed that Youssef Chermiti was on the bench and Ryan Naderi was starting.
It was fair to assume, at that point, that the German would be playing up front alongside Lawrence Shankland in a 4-4-2 or 4-2-2-2, but he ended up playing on the right flank in a 4-2-3-1 set-up.
The Gers looked unbalanced in that set-up because Naderi was drifting centrally and that left space for Dujon Sterling, who is not an exceptionally technical or creative right-back, to provide all the attacking threat down the right.
| Vs Dundee United | Ryan Naderi |
|---|---|
| Minutes | 45 |
| Pass accuracy | 67% |
| Shots | 2 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Dribbles attempted | 0 |
| Crosses attempted | 0 |
| Ground duels won | 1/3 |
| Aerial duels won | 3/9 |
McInnes quickly looked to rectify his mistake by hauling the former Hansa Rostock centre-forward off at half-time, putting Mohamed Diomande on the right, and his side did go on to rescue a point.
Naderi’s struggles on the right wing explain why Rangers are eyeing up deals for Besiktas winger Vaclav Cerny and Frosinone forward Fares Ghedjemis, who are both left-footed right wingers.
The Rangers man who looks finished after Dundee United
Whilst the German giants struggled on the right flank, it is the player on the other wing who should never play another minute for the Light Blues in the Premiership.
Rangers have already been ruthless with Oliver Antman, selling him to Anderlecht for more than £4m, and the next player out of Ibrox should be Djeidi Gassama.
The Mauritania international ended last season on a run of one goal in his last 17 appearances, and he carried those struggles at the top end of the pitch into the new campaign.
| Rating Rangers starters vs Dundee Utd | |
|---|---|
| Player | Rating (out of 10) |
| Ivor Pandur | 6 |
| Dujon Sterling | 6 |
| Ben Godfrey | 6 |
| Emmanuel Fernandez | 6.5 |
| Tuur Rommens | 6 |
| Cammy Devlin | 5 |
| Mohamed Diomande | 6.5 |
| Ryan Naderi | 4 |
| Thelo Aasgaard | 8 |
| Djeidi Gassama | 4 |
| Lawrence Shankland | 6 |
Gassama, like Naderi, was taken off at half-time after a dismal first-half display on the wing, in which he completed just 55% of his attempted passes and racked up 0.02 xA for his teammates.
Aasgaard looked significantly more effective when he moved out to the left to take his place in the second-half, scoring the all-important equaliser in the game after drifting into the box from the left.
With the Norway international outshining him, Findlay Curtis coming through, and Cerny and Ghedjemis being eyed up on the right wing, Gassama could very quickly plummet down the pecking order under McInnes.
Rangers’ new manager was clearly not impressed with his efforts against Dundee United, given that he substituted the winger at the break, and the ex-Sheffield Wednesday man may have already sealed his fate.
In the 2025/26 campaign, Curtis scored six goals in 24 Premiership matches for Rangers and Kilmarnock combined, whilst the Mauritania winger scored three goals in 38 games.
This suggests that the Gers already have a better left-sided winger to compete with Aasgaard for a spot in that position without needing to sign a direct replacement for him.
The Light Blues rejected a £10m offer from Monaco for Gassama in January, which suggests that there are clubs looking at him. Rangers should, now, take advantage of that and attempt to cash in on him in the coming days or weeks of the transfer window.
His form last season and his performance against Dundee United does not suggest that he has a bright future at Ibrox, and they should cash in whilst they still can before he continues to struggle and potentially declines in value.