Rangers star was berated by Clement, now he could become their own McTominay
Any supporters of Glasgow Rangers and Scotland will have enjoyed their Tuesday night after former Gers academy prospect Kenny McLean scored in a 4-2 win over Denmark to qualify for the World Cup.
Whilst McLean scored from the half-way line, Scott McTominay stole the headlines with an outstanding overhead kick early on in the match, which put Scotland 1-0 up.
The attacking midfielder has now scored 14 goals for Scotland, with this strike against Denmark arguably the best of the lot, and his rise to prominence for his country is a story that the Gers could learn from.
What Rangers can learn from Scott McTominay's Scotland heroics
Per Transfermarkt, McTominay started more games as a defensive midfielder (134) than in any other position during his time with Manchester United, and scored 29 goals in 255 matches.
The Premier League giants sold him to Napoli for a fee of £25.7m in the summer of 2024, and a change in his role by the Italian side unearthed his true potential, as the majority of his starts with the Serie A champions, per Transfermarkt, have been as a central or attacking midfielder.
McTominay has not started a single game as a defensive midfielder for Napoli, per Transfermarkt, and has scored 17 goals in 50 matches for the club as a result of their decision to unleash him further up the pitch.
Rangers can learn from his rise to stardom in Naples because it is proof that a player can sometimes be hampered by the position they are playing in, and that may be the case for Mohamed Diomande.
Why Rangers need to change Mohamed Diomande's position
Football FanCast recently published an article suggesting that January may be the right time to cash in on the Ivorian midfielder, because of his regression on the pitch this season.
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McTominay’s resurgence for club and country, though, could play a role in changing that opinion, as Diomande could revive his Ibrox career by being unleashed further up the pitch.
Former Rangers boss Philippe Clement, who recently landed a new job with Norwich, criticised the midfielder and Cyriel Dessers because they were “not brave enough” in November last year, but that tough love led to Diomande ending the season with six goals and nine assists, per Transfermarkt.
Mo Diomande’s positional change at Rangers
Position
Starts in 24/25
Starts in 25/26
All positions
48
14
Central midfield
19 (40%)
7 (50%)
Attacking midfield
16 (33%)
1 (7%)
Defensive midfield
13 (27%)
6 (43%)
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, the 24-year-old star has been asked to play in far more defensive positions than when he excelled last season under Clement and Barry Ferguson.
Diomande has no goals and no assists in 18 games, per Transfermarkt, after his 15 goal contributions in the 2024/25 campaign, which clearly shows that the change in his position has had a negative impact on his performances.
The left-footed star, who showed off his attacking quality at Parkhead in March, is capable of far more than he has shown this season, as evidenced by his form last season.
That is why Danny Rohl should look to unleash Diomande further up the pitch, in an attacking midfield role, because his attacking instincts could see him revive his Ibrox career in the same way that McTominay’s positional change sparked his career for club and country into life.
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