Rangers new boy backed to become fan favourite amid 'brutal' Ibrox challenge as teammate tipped for Celtic move

Makhanya, 22, joined the club for a fee of £3million from Philadelphia Union last month after playing for South Africa at the World Cup this summer, and performed well on his debut against Hibs at the weekend despite the Glasgow giants falling to a damaging injury-time defeat.

Winless after their first three competitive games this summer, the young defender will be thrown into a baptism of fire this season as Rangers look to turn the tide and kick-start their season under new head coach Derek McInnes, but South African icon Quinton Fortune believes he has all the tools to become a fan favourite in the months ahead.

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“I’ve seen how he throws himself into tackles,” said ex-Manchester United winger Fortune. “The fans there will love that. Maybe sometimes he might want to ease up on those tackles inside his own half but you don’t want to take that spirit away from him. It is what makes him a good defender. Now he’s at Rangers he can develop his game understanding and how to play as a centre-back at the higher levels. How to communicate, how to organise.

“His awareness will have to improve. His concentration will have to get better. I’m just so happy he is going to get this experience that will force him to raise his game because he will get better and better. He’s young so he will make mistakes but in terms of his quality, his physique, the size of him and his aggression he has everything Rangers could want. Olwethu Makhanya will be a very good player for Rangers.

“Look, he's only 22 years old so he's a young player but I'm so happy to see him make his way from MLS to a big European club. The level in Scotland will be much higher than what he’s used to in MLS. He won’t even understand what’s coming next. Once he plays against Celtic, once he plays against Hearts, and all the other strong teams in the Premiership, he will understand how brutal football can be, because of the intensity. That will make him a better player, and that will make South Africa a better team.”

Fortune also believes that clubs in Scotland should keep an eye on emerging South African talent Relebohile Mofokeng. The 21-year-old winger was signed by Royale Union Saint-Gilloise recently after impressing in his homeland with Orlando Pirates, and the ex-Manchester United man thinks it’ll be interesting to see what his next step will be.

“Relebohile Mofokeng is one of the best players we’ve seen come out of South Africa and now he’s playing in Belgium,” said Fortune via an interview with Premier Bet. “When I was watching him play at the World Cup I saw a player ready to prove himself in Europe, and then the deal happened. Now it’s all down to him.

“Now he’s putting himself into an environment where he's going to be tested, playing against players of his same level of ability. Could Mofokeng play for a team like Celtic in the future? That’s the next step for him one day, and it’s the way forward for African teams to have more of their players at top European clubs because that’s how an African team can win the World Cup some day.”