The curious case of Chermiti in Rohl's Rangers revolution

What’s Happening

Real talk: BBC Scotland looks at Youssef Chermiti’s impact for Rangers against Hearts and beyond.

The curious case of Chermiti in Rohls Rangers revolution Image source, SNS Image caption, Youssef Chermiti took the match ball after a three-goal performance By Andrew Petrie BBC Sport Scotland Published 4 hours ago A multi-million pound signing, openly derided and much-maligned. Yet, in the two biggest games of Rangers season, hes been the hero. (it feels like chaos)

Youssef Chermiti cost the Ibrox club a fee of around £8m in the summer, having not scored a goal in two years.

The Details

His name was attached to criticism of former sporting director Kevin Thelwell, with his unconvincing early performances only adding fuel to the fire of his doubters. Yet, against Celtic in the new years derby, he came good.

His two goals shot Rangers to a 3-1 win at Celtic Park, leading to Wilfried Nancy being sacked and pushing Danny Rohls side past Celtic in the Scottish Premiership table for the first time this season. On Sunday, he kicked off in the biggest game of the season so far against league leaders Hearts.

Why This Matters

Thanks to Chermiti, thats what they got. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, the Portuguese striker scored a first ever career hat-trick and heaved a chunk of momentum back behind Rangers in the title charge. Watch: Rangers v Hearts - Sportscene highlights 15/02/26 Watch on iPlayer Backing from Rohl pays dividends The strangest thing about all this - Chermiti has scored just seven league goals this season.

The sports world never stops delivering these kinds of storylines.

Key Takeaways

• Two big games, right enough, but two games all the same.
• Interestingly enough, he is actually outperforming his xG of just 5.
• 21, despite some notable misses.
• The 21-year-old ranks just 15th in the leagues strikers in that metric.

The Bottom Line

In 15 league games, 10 of which were starts, he went goalless. Before the 4-2 win over Hearts, he had drawn a blank in his past six games.

What’s your take on this whole situation?