He’s good but can he do it on a cold, wet Wednesday night in Stoke? No, or any other night for that matter. But the first bit is all that matters to Rangers fans when it comes to Rabbi Matondo - he’s good.
The 21-year-old winger’s time at the Britannia Stadium didn’t go as well as either he or Potters boss Michael O’Neill would have liked. Matondo played just 11 games for Stoke City, scoring one goal in a draw with Nottingham Forest, and it’s fair to say that loan spell away from Schalke didn’t quite go to play for the Welsh international.
But it would be harsh to judge him just on that six-month stint. There is so much more for the Rangers fans to get excited about. Not least the loan spell that came after Stoke City last season at Belgian side Cercle Brugge where he proved a huge success under Austrian Dominik Thalhammer and they wanted to trigger a buy-out clause but couldn’t agree terms with the player.
Matondo is reportedly set to become the fourth new face of the summer at Rangers as criticism early in the window for sporting director Ross Wilson slowly turns to praise as new signings and targets emerge by the day. French Ligue 1 sides Lorient and Troyes were both interested but Giovanni van Bronckhorst looks like getting the youngster for a fee of around £1.8 million.
Here, Record Sport looks at the winger and what he might bring to the Europa League finalists and Scottish Cup winners as Van Bronckhorst strengthens ahead of a Champions League qualification bid.
Who is Rabbi Matondo?
Born in Liverpool to Congolese, Matondo’s family later relocated to south Wales who he chose to represent at international level and has been capped 11 times. He comes from a footballing family with his father Dada having played for Democratic Republic of Congo while one of his brothers, Japhet, is in the Cardiff City youth set-up. Matondo also started out at the Bluebirds where he was regarded as the most exciting talent since Aaron Ramsey, whose footsteps he could follow in to Ibrox, before moving to English Premier League champions Manchester City and then on to Schalke.
What is his background?
He had to learn to look after himself for a young age on the mean streets of Tremorfa. The area in south west Wales has one of the highest crime rates in the country. But for Matondo, it provided him with a field of dreams that eventually led him to the riches of the Etihad and then the Bundesliga.
"Tremorfa's not the best of areas, but it's passionate about football," he said of his upbringing. “Growing up there helped a lot in me becoming who I am today and the way I play. It's suited to my style. I've always liked to run with the ball. Going out in the park and seeing other people, playing against boys who were older, bigger and strong than me has helped."
Will he finally fill that right-sided role?
Getting the right man for the right has been an issue for Rangers for some time now, stretching back to when Steven Gerrard first took over. Daniel Candeias was already at the club, Eros Grezda (gulp!), Ovie Ejaria, Jordan Jones, Jake Hastie (remember him?), Scott Wright, Greg Stewart and last season Amad Diallo have all been tried. Scott Arfield and Joe Aribo have also been deployed there.
Ryan Kent has been an overall success on the other flank and finding someone of his quality for the other side has been a priority for some time.
Matondo and Kent are similar in certain aspects of their game but also have some key differences in how they play. The 21-year-old Schalke man netted nine times - in a 13-game spell - for Cercle Brugge last season compared to just three goals for the Ibrox hero.
The main critique of the former Liverpool man is his lack of goals. But Kent (32 passes per game) is more involved in general play compared to Matondo (17 passes per game). That stands to reason considering Rangers dominated games more than Cercle Brugge. Both averaged seven dribbles per 90 minutes in the 21/22 season.
Matondo makes more key passes (1.24 per game) than Kent (0.96) but the Englishman is well clear of the potential new arrival when it comes to crosses, making 2.8 per game compared to 0.96 for Matondo.There's no doubt the Wales international is a burgeoning talent but there remains room to grow ahead of his pending Ibrox transfer.
Why did he leave Manchester City?
Matondo is a speed merchant at 35.97 km/h so maybe it’s no surprise that he wants to go places quickly. And he got impatient at the Etihad waiting for his chance under Pep Guardiola after joining the club as a 16-year-old. That saw him swap the Premier League for the Bundesliga in a £10 million move.
"They (Manchester City) knew it was getting to that sort of time where I was thinking it was the right move for me,” he said in an interview. “They tried to keep me, but they respected that I knew I was doing what I thought was the right thing for my career. I liked the vibe I was getting from Schalke and the manager at the time, (Domenico) Tedesco, who was always contacting me and speaking of me highly and telling me what he could get out of me.
"I loved the atmosphere at the Veltins-Arena, so I thought this was the right platform for me to improve and showcase my talent.”
Why didn’t he cut it at Stoke City?
A a whole host of reasons, including the fact Michael O’Neill often didn’t play with conventional wingers. He arrived in the January transfer window and joining a club mid-season isn’t always the easiest. It can take time to get to know your new surroundings, team-mates, different style of play and especially for a young player. Plus, it’s Stoke. Why do you think that question of being able to do it on wet Wednesday came about?
Injuries played a part as did the good form of other players. However, there’s no denying it didn’t work out.
O’Neill said during his spell: “His loan hasn’t gone as well as he’d hoped or we’d hoped, let’s be honest, he hasn’t played as much. When he came he had an injury and it took a little bit of time to get over that.
“It’s a little bit difficult at the minute because we’re not playing with wingers and we maybe have to look at him as an option through the middle as well. He did play there for Schalke. But he’s a good boy. He’s a 20-year-old boy who was possibly led astray a little bit.”
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