We can all see the same thing: Chermiti looks like he’s improving. He’s not hiding, he’s getting involved more often, and there are moments where you think, right, there’s a player in there. But at Rangers, that only buys you so much time. Our strikers need goals. End of.

Improvement is good, but it’s not the currency

I’m not saying development doesn’t matter. It does. If a forward is starting to hold the ball up better, bring midfield runners into play, and generally stop attacks dying the minute it reaches him, that’s progress. It helps the whole team play higher up the pitch and keeps us on the front foot.

But the truth is, the Ibrox crowd will forgive a scuffed touch now and then if the ball keeps hitting the net. And they won’t forgive a striker who looks “nearly there” every week without actually delivering. It’s harsh, but that’s the size of club we are.

The Dessers comparison: experience and instinct

When you think back to Dessers, whatever complaints folk had, there were clear strengths. He could hold it in, take contact, and make it stick enough for the team to breathe. More importantly, he scored goals. Not always pretty, sometimes messy, but he found ways. That comes with experience, but it also comes from something you either have or you don’t.

For me, the big question with Chermiti is that instinct inside the box. Being in the right place at the right time. Smelling where the second ball is landing. Taking half a yard before the defender realises. You can coach movement patterns and you can coach decision-making, but that natural striker’s radar is different. Dessers had a version of it.

Young or not, he needs to start scoring

Of course Chermiti is young. Of course he’s not played loads of games. There’s always a bedding-in period, especially for a forward where confidence is everything. But I’m not totally having the “he’s only played so many games” line as a blanket defence either. Some players show you the instinct early, even if their minutes are limited. If you’ve got it, you’ve got it. Igamane is the example that gets mentioned because you could see the natural nose for danger.

No one can honestly guarantee Chermiti suddenly bangs in 25 a season, and I’m not even sure that’s the right expectation to hang on him right now. What I do want is signs that he’s turning improvement into end product. A couple of goals, a couple of ruthless finishes, and suddenly the whole conversation changes.

Hope is fine. Rangers need outcomes.

Written by Stromtrooper1: 24 January 2026

Tags: transfers