Danny Rohl reveals congratulatory messages from Germany as new Rangers signing compared to £65m man

The arrival the 22-year-old from Hansa Rostock made headlines in his homeland after setting a new record as the most expensive transfer in the history of 3.Liga - the third tier of German football.

Rangers paid an up front fee of £4.75million which could rise above the £5m mark with add-ons, for Naderi, who scored eight goals and provided five assists in 18 games for Hansa this season.

Rohl is confident the newcomer can handle the step up to the Glasgow giants amid favourable comparisons to past and present Germany stars Fredi Bobic and Nick Woltemade.

"He is really smart. It is important that we give him a proper environment now," Rohl said.

"This is the big difference between October and now; we have a group that is growing together and can support new players in taking the next step. In October, many players lacked self-confidence and had a lot of problems.

"Now, more players are ready to help each other, and we have great examples of players moving in the right direction. This is why we are convinced he will help us. I also spoke with some coaches from Germany today and received many messages saying, 'Congratulations on a good signing'.

"They compared him to former players like Fredi Bobic and Nick Woltemade . If he can reach that level here, we will have a lot of fun with him."

Former Borussia Dortmund, Hannover 96 and Hertha BSC striker Bobic won 37 caps for Germany and was part of the Euro 1996 winning squad. Newcastle striker Woltemade, 23, who is capped eight times by Germany, cost the Premier League club a reported £65m plus £4.3m in potential add-ons when he signed from Stuttgart last summer.

Naderi could make his debut in the Premiership game against Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Wednesday night, where third-placed Rangers hope to keep the pressure on Celtic and leaders Hearts.

"The good thing is he played regular with a lot of minutes in the last couple of weeks," Rohl added. "This is always a big question mark in January. Some players need two or three weeks to come to the point. He played 90 minutes at the weekend. He played before and scored.

"This is fantastic because it gives us a straight opportunity to put him on.

"When I was talking to him I felt the fire. I know Hansa Rostock, they have 25-30,000 crazy fans that helps prepare him for our place. He is a smart guy with high potential. We now have three players up front, for me it's now to bring them together and find a good shape where we can play sometimes with two strikers, sometimes with one."

Rohl happy with ‘positive’ January window

Naderi was Rangers' fourth and final signing of the January window following the arrivals of Denmark winger Andreas Skov Olsen, Danish midfielder Tochi Chukwuani and Belgian left-back Tuur Rommens.

Rohl declared himself pleased with Rangers overall business, which also saw the departures of Joe Rothwell to Sheffield United and Kieron Dowell to Hull City on permanent deals, with Lyall Cameron, Findlay Curtis and Clinton Nsiala leaving on loan.

"When I look back to our window, I am very positive about this," the former Sheffield Wednesday boss said. "Not just about the ins, but also how we handled the outs. We reduced the numbers but increased the quality in the squad.”

Rohl did admit, however, that Rangers fell short in their pursuit of an additional midfielder amid reports that they were priced out of a move for Tromso’s Jens Hjertø-Dahl.

"In midfield, yes, we were still open and we looked to the market but sometimes it's about timing,” he said. “But at the end we are convinced that with this group we can go forward.

"The good thing as well is we signed players, not just loans. It shows that we have a view for the long term.

"I have in nearly every position now a double up. And it is not clear in every position who is the starter and who is the hunter. This is great, we need this challenge in the second half of the season that we increase our peformance. For me, we showed that we increased the quality in the quad, and with this, we should go forward now."

Rohl also confirmed that out of favour attacking duo Rabbi Matondo and Danilo could still depart the club beyond the transfer deadline.

"There are still some windows in other countries open," he added. "We will see what happens over the next 24 hours."

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