GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST has backed midfielder Malik Tillman to fill the void left by Joe Aribo's departure to Southampton this summer.
The 20-year-old became the latest addition to the Ibrox squad when he completed a season-long loan deal on Friday and was in the stands to see Rangers beat Blackpool the following day.
Van Bronckhorst's side have fixtures with West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur this week as they continue their preparations for the Premiership kick-off and Champions League qualifiers.
The loss of Aribo has removed a significant creative presence from the Rangers attack but Tillman has now been touted to make the most of his chance to impress at Ibrox.
Van Bronckhorst said: “We lost Joe Aribo. We want to have the same squad as last year so with Malik arriving we have it looking as it should be.
“He is a midfielder with a lot of good passing, good movement and can score goals. He is quite physical so he will give us a lot of strength in there.
“We now have a really competitive squad and we want competition for positions.
“Of course when we knew of the interest in Joe we moved quickly to Malik. We spoke with him a couple of weeks ago, that’s why he has a good feeling to come here.
"I’m happy he is joining us and he is excited about starting.”
