John Lundstram says he'd love Malik Tillman to stay on at Rangers after proving the doubters wrong.
Lundstram reckons the young American international got a bit of a raw deal earlier in the campaign - undeservedly - and feels everyone is now on-board about how good he is. The 20-year-old slammed both goals in the 2-0 win over Motherwell at the weekend to take his tally for the season to 12.
Rangers have the option to make his loan move from Bayern Munich a permanent one but it it is still unclear if this will happen as there has been a change of manager with Thomas Tuchel replacing Julian Nagelsmann. The fee is believed to be around £6million and as far as Lundstram is concerned he's worth it.
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He said: “I remember coming in [to the press room] and saying, ‘He’s a young lad, just give him time’. He’s honestly up there with one of the best talents I’ve seen. He’s a top, top player.
“You’re all giving him the credit now but you weren’t as kind at the start of the season. But he’s a top player. Everyone has stuck with him and he’s showing it now.
“His career is his own, he doesn’t need old me to come in and tell him what to do. You don’t need a draw to come to this club. The draw is there.
“If he wants to stay, he will. If not his future is bright. Does he look happy out there? Of course he looks happy to me.
“I’d love him to stay. It’s his personal choice. It’s not really got anything to do with any of us. If he stays, then it’s great for all of us. If not, then we wish him well.
“This loan will have been huge for him. I think he’ll look back on this spell at Rangers, if he does go on to achieve massive, massive things in the game, and see this as a really important spell. I hope it’s a long spell.
“But if not I’m still sure he’ll go on and do great things - and I’m sure he’ll look back with fond memories. It just comes with games and it comes with experience.
“When you get a bit older you get a bit more relaxed. Once you get games under your belt it’s just comes with confidence, and I think his confidence is oozing right now and he’s showing exactly what he can do.
“He’s an absolute pleasure to play with. You just want to give him the ball as much as you can. It’s the same with Todd [Cantwell]. You want these type of players on the ball as much as possible. I just pass it to them five yards away and let them go do their stuff.”
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