Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl oversaw his first Old Firm victory on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Celtic at Parkhead in the Scottish Premiership.
The Light Blues had to come from behind to claim the three points after Hyun-jun Yang’s opener, and they did so thanks to two goals from Youssef Chermiti and one goal from Mikey Moore.
There were plenty of positives to take from such a terrific result, of course, but there are still things that need to be addressed in the January transfer window.
Why Rangers need to sign a creative midfielder
The Scottish giants must still be in the market to sign a new attacking midfielder, or at least a central midfielder with attacking qualities, to bolster the squad this month.
Thelo Aasgaard started as the attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation for Rangers, with Moore on the left and Djeidi Gassama on the right, and struggled in the opening 45 minutes.
The Norway international was booked for pulling back Luke McCowan after a dreadful touch allowed the Scottish midfielder to take it past him in midfield, and Rohl reacted to that by taking him off at half-time.
Aasgaard has shown improved form of late, with two goals and one assist in the previous three league games, but there are still question marks over his consistency and his ability in big matches, after flopping against Celtic.
That is why Rangers should still swoop to bring in another option in the number ten position in January, so they are not solely reliant on the former Luton star’s consistency.
The midfielder Rangers should sign to replace Thelo Aasgaard
It was reported towards the end of last month that Rangers are one of the teams interested in a deal to sign Tromso central midfielder Jens Hjerto-Dahl, who is valued at around £5m.
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RangersJournal creator and analyst Kai Watson described the 20-year-old star as “one of the biggest talents in Norway” and claimed that it would be a “huge coup” for the club to secure his signature this month.
His performances in the 2025 Eliteserien suggest that he is an exciting young talent, as Watson claimed, and that he could come in as an upgrade on what Aasgaard has offered the Gers.
The £5m-rated star scored four goals and provided four assists in 28 league starts for Tromso in the league last year, per Sofascore, whilst also completing 1.3 dribbles per game and winning 5.1 duels per match.
Like Aasgaard, Hjerto-Dahl is a right-footed midfielder who typically operates on the left side of the midfield, allowing him to step inside onto his right foot in and around the box, as evidenced by his 2025 Eliteserien heat map (via Sofascore) below.
The Norwegian talent produced consistent quality for Tromso last season, with goals and assists, despite his young age and inexperience, which is more than be said for Aasgaard this term for Rangers.
2025 Eliteserien
Hjerto-Dahl
Rank vs CMs
xG
5.93
Top 1%
Goals
4
Top 16%
xG on target
5.85
Top 3%
xA
4.22
Top 14%
Chances created
30
Top 14%
Assists
4
Top 16%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, the 6 foot 4 midfielder was one of the most impressive midfielders in the league when it came to scoring and creating goals.
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Whilst a return of four goals from 5.93 xG may seem poor at face value, the 5.85 xG on target suggests that he was taking high-quality shots that were unfortunately met with high-quality saves, so it was more of a case of him being unlucky than having poor finishing skills.
Aasagaard, meanwhile, does not rank higher than the top 26% of his peers in the Premiership this season for goals or assists, per FotMob, which speaks to the gap in quality between the two players.
This suggests that Hjert-Dahl could come in as a replacement for Aasgaard as a regular starter in midfield, playing either as an attacking midfielder or on the left of a midfield three.
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That is not to say that the Norway international’s career at Ibrox should be over, because he has shown some positive signs of late, but it could provide him with real competition and ensure that he does not start games on a regular basis if he is not performing.