Rangers prospect earns comparison to £75m former Ballon d'Or runner-up as teammates rave over emerging star

Standout displays earn likening to ex-Celtic defender

Clinton Nsiala's eye-catching breakthrough at Rangers has left such an impression on his teammates that they are already comparing him to one of the greatest defenders on the planet.

The 21-year-old Frenchman has been thrust into Philippe Clement's first team, starting the past three matches for the Ibrox club due to a spate of injuries that have decimated the Rangers backline.

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The summer recruit from AC Milan made a solid debut in the 1-1 draw with Dundee at Dens Park last Thursday and followed that up with two standout displays in back-to-back home victories over St Johnstone and Aberdeen.

Rangers defender Clinton Nsiala in action during the 3-1 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox.  (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)Rangers defender Clinton Nsiala in action during the 3-1 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox.  (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Rangers defender Clinton Nsiala in action during the 3-1 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Rangers fans have been encouraged by what they have seen from the centre-back who spent two years in the Nantes youth system before being snapped up by AC Milan on the recommendation of Paulo Maldini in 2021. Nsiala was an unused substitute several times in Serie A but never made a first-team appearance for the San Siro outfit. He has previously featured for Rangers B team this season but his runout at Dens Park was his first ever taste of senior football.

Ross McCausland, his Rangers teammate, revealed the consensus on the bench was that Nsiala’s performances reminded of a young Virgil van Dijk, the Liverpool and Netherlands centre-back who was previously with Celtic and who finished runner-up to Lionel Messi in the 2019 Ballon d'Or award. Van Dijk won back-to-back titles with Celtic, who sold him to Southampton for £13m in 2015 before recouping a sizeable sell-on fee when he broke the world transfer record for a defender with a £75m move to Liverpool two years later. Rangers would settle for similar success with Nsiala.

"He's been amazing," said McCausland, the Northern Ireland winger. "Just in the past few games, watching him, us on the bench were saying he was like a left-footed van Dijk. It's good to see that he was ready for his opportunity and he's certainly took it."

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Following Hamza Igamane’s rapid rise since his recent introduction to the Rangers first-team, director of football Nils Koppen believes the club have unearthed another player of huge potential in Nsiala. At the time of his signing, he stated: “We are excited to add a talented young player in Clinton to the squad.

“He joins as an exciting talent who we believe can develop and take his next steps under our manager, Philippe Clement, and his staff.”

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