In the January transfer window, there was an unusual situation where a left-back who was rumored to move to Rangers in the middle of the season was coincidentally joined at his current club by another left-back also linked with a mid-season switch to Rangers. With Galatasaray eyeing Ridvan Yilmaz and uncertainty surrounding Borna Barisic’s future, Philippe Clement’s team considered several left-footed full-back options before the February cutoff.

Reportedly, there was interest in Gijs Smal, the FC Twente player known for his assists, who, similar to Barisic, will become a free agent in July. Smal is now anticipated to join Feyenoord on a free transfer. Interestingly, his spot in the Twente starting lineup might be filled by another left-footed defender who was on Rangers’ winter transfer wishlist.

Rangers’ January acquisition facing challenges at their new team.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Rangers considered Anass Salah-Eddine when Ajax indicated they were open to offers. However, Salah-Eddine opted to join Twente for a fee of just £850,000, with the potential departure of Smal in mind. Nonetheless, there are doubts about Salah-Eddine’s suitability for the role that Smal excelled in, given Smal’s success as a set-piece specialist at Twente.

Salah-Eddine has only made four substitute appearances for Twente so far, and his lack of playing time hasn’t shielded him from criticism. Reporter Leon ten Voorde was particularly critical of Salah-Eddine’s performance in a recent match against his former club Ajax, where he conceded a needless penalty in the dying moments of a 2-1 defeat in Amsterdam. Ten Voorde expressed his bemusement, noting that Salah-Eddine seemed inactive defensively before making a late challenge.