Most valuable thing about Rangers flop Chermiti is that he'll take sporting director Thelwell down with him

THERE was a time when it was almost possible to feel sorry for Youssef Chermiti. Just 21 years of age, raw as sushi, thrown into a failing club under a dismal manager in Russell Martin and asked to start banging in goals when there was nothing on his CV to ever suggest he was remotely ready.

That was until he scored a flukey strike against Kilmarnock with a shot from distance that went straight through the keeper – still his only goal in 12 outings for Rangers – and started gesturing to the crowd about people bumping their gums about him.

What a silly laddie. It rarely ends well when players start having a go at their own fans. Particularly when they have an £8million price tag – potentially £10m with add-ons – hanging round their neck and look like they’ve won a competition to get a game for the team.

In truth, the only valuable quality Chermiti has right now is that he very definitely has the capacity to take under-fire sporting director Kevin Thelwell down with him at Ibrox.

These guys are conjoined in a death spiral, really. Chermiti will forever be cursed by the mark of Thelwell upon him. Thelwell will never be forgiven for signing him.

The Portuguese striker is the poster boy for the former Everton director of football’s absolutely atrocious recruitment record since arriving in Glasgow earlier in the year – and there’s a strong case to be made for him being the worst signing of them all. Which really is saying something.

Chermiti might go on to make something of himself in time. Amad Diallo struggled on loan at Rangers back in the day and is now a talented part of the Manchester United squad. Fabio Silva had a hugely underwhelming spell on loan from Wolves before going out to Las Palmas and landing himself a £20m move to Borussia Dortmund – where he never gets a start, to be fair - in the summer.

Right now, though, Chermiti just isn’t capable of dealing with the responsibility of being the No 9 at Rangers. Just as he wasn’t ready to play for Everton when Thelwell signed him for £13m from Sporting Lisbon in 2023.

And he’s probably the main reason the writing is on the wall for Thelwell.

He might think he’s safe as houses – surrounded by his son as head of recruitment and all sorts of other ex-colleagues in other positions – but you don’t come back from banners being draped from the stands with your noggin in the middle of the crosshairs.

It’s anyone’s guess how long it will actually take for this guy to get his pay-off, but it’s as good as over for him. The noise is becoming too great.

Chairman Andrew Cavenagh must realise that, no matter how much he wishes he didn’t.

Chermiti and Thelwell are just two bad mistakes in a litany of them since his San Francisco 49ers-backed consortium took over. Appallingly costly mistakes, but ones that have to be resolved all the same.