Glasgow, no two ways about it rangers Forward Youssef Cermiti just needs to score.

Ibrox took the lead at Fir Park after Nicolas Raskin’s early goal before Chermiti had a chance to double their advantage on the half-hour mark with the ball falling into his path.

The returning striker only had to beat opposition goalkeeper Callum Ward, but after opting for an early shot he could only fire straight at the keeper’s throat, with his second effort also going wide.

Apart from his Derby double, Cermiti’s first season in Glasgow was largely miserable, The man worth £8 million There are still just four goals in all competitions.

With the arrival of Ryan Naderi on deadline day, the burden has at least been lifted on the former Everton man, although the German still has a lot of work to do to avoid the same fate as the club’s recent striker signings.

How Cermiti’s first season compares to former Rangers striker

The size of the transfer fee did not help the narrative surrounding Cermiti from the outset, although he had ample opportunity to silence the doubters, although he failed to do so.

For any new signing, there is a need to build momentum in the first season, let alone a forward, and Alfredo Morelos from Finland scored an impressive 18 goals in his debut season in 2017/18.

Morelos’ former team-mate Kemar Roofe also equaled that number in his first season at Ibrox in 2020/21, playing a crucial role in guiding Steven Gerrard’s side to the title.

Even the aging Jermain Defoe only scored eight goals in 20 games in his first six months in Glasgow, while Cermiti scored four goals in 28 games.

Antonio Colac and Cyril Desers have excelled to an extent in recent times despite both having their flaws, scoring 18 and 22 goals respectively in their debut seasons, while Cermiti has a lot of work to do if he is to come close to those numbers.

Indeed, the 22-year-old is already in danger of slipping into Sam Lammers or Cedric Itten territory, with the latter also scoring just four Premier League goals since arriving in the summer of 2020/21.

The pair were quickly destined to be together, and first impressions were crucial. Based on current evidence, Cermiti appears to be heading down a similar path.

Rangers sell Cermiti 2.0, who now outperforms Naderi

In many ways, Cermiti’s performance at Rangers was expected, with a player who had not scored at all when Everton checked his notes unsurprisingly finding himself struggling to move on, even when given regular playing time.

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If it’s any consolation for the struggling forward, even those who have been ‘proven’ before joining the club fall flat, with the aforementioned Iten being a clear example.

The Swiss marksman was acquired by Gerrard in 2020. He played 63 games for St. Gallen in his hometown, scoring 36 goals and providing 11 assists.

Like Cermiti, the then 23-year-old was a relatively young prospect at the time and despite high expectations, Gerrard said the newcomer would be a “big player” for the Light Blues.

Frustratingly, the emergence of the likes of Roofe and Morelos has relegated Iten to a bit-part role, with four of his goals actually coming from just five starts, although he clearly hasn’t done enough to warrant further chances from his manager.

Just a year later he was loaned to Germany before returning to Switzerland permanently to join Young Boys in the summer of 2022, six months after returning to Ibrox.

Overall, he scored just eight goals in 48 games for the club, and Rangers – as they may decide to do with Cermiti – quickly moved on from what appeared to be a transfer mistake.

Itten, meanwhile, continued to flourish in the following years, scoring 48 goals in 128 games for the Junior Boys, while now starring for Fortuna Dusseldorf in Germany’s second tier.

Iten, who plays for Naderi’s former club Hansa Rostock, has actually outperformed the young German, with his nine league goals in the Bundesliga second tier eclipsing the eight the 22-year-old scored earlier this season.

Even last season, the 29-year-old outclassed the Rangers newcomers, scoring eight league goals against Young Boys, while Naderi only scored five league goals for Rostock.

Having scored more league goals in Germany this season than Cermiti and Bojan Miowski have scored in the Premier League combined, Itten looks like a different player to the forgotten player in Glasgow.

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