We are very excited to bring Djeidi to the club. He is certainly an exciting player who will get supporters on the edge of their seats, and I believe he will add an extra dimension to our attack with his qualities. He is hungry to improve as a player and, most importantly, is desperate to pull on the Rangers jersey and help deliver success to the club.
Head Coach, Russell Martin
Time always feels like it passes slower in Rangers-land.
90 minutes can feel like 90 days. A week more like a year and a season? As the last one showed, it can feel like it lasts forever.
Just seven days separated Rangers first rumoured interest and Djeidi Gassama’s announcement as the club’s newest recruit - but it felt longer. Due to Sheffield Wednesday’s well documented ownership and financial issues, it was a deal that was delayed awaiting full sign off by the club from South Yorkshire.
When it “eventually” came, the deal was widely acknowledged as a bargain at around about the £2m mark. Despite a contract with just one year left to run, it was said by journalists close to the club that Djeidi could (and should) have gone for a figure much higher were it not for the financial predicament Sheffield Wednesday currently find themselves in.
The hope is that Sheffield’s loss is Glasgow’s gain. Gassama’s debut came not on a Wednesday but a Tuesday, and the youngster certainly announced himself with a bang. He entered the Ibrox pitch late in the second half as a substitute in Rangers Champions League Qualifier against Panathinaikos. All of three minutes later, the man from Mauritiana smashed in Rangers second goal to put them firmly in the driving seat as they hope to progress to the third round.
Whilst Gassama is primarily a left sided wide attacker, he has certainly made some appearances on the opposite flank and centrally for both Sheffield Wednesday and in his time spent in the PSG youth system.
With yet another squad rebuild underway, Rangers currently have an injury plagued Oscar Cortes and 18 year-old Findlay Curtis as the only two wingers expected to be at the club by the end of this window. It’s therefore hardly a surprise that the club are potentially looking to bring in up to three wide players, with Gassama the first through the door.
From Paris to Sheffield
Gassama was born in Niéléba Haouissé, Mauritania but played his youth football entirely in France. Despite signing for Paris Saint-Germain in 2019 as an academy player, Djeidi spent regular time training with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in the French capital.
"It was crazy to be in a team with players like Messi, Mbappe, Neymar," Gassama told Rangers TV
"I started playing when I was young and then I played for the Under 19s at PSG and made my debut.
"It was a good experience for me to train with them, I learnt a lot of things about the gym and what they do on and off the pitch.
"They give 100% and when you see them you have to do the same, and even training with them is like a game.”
Just one first team appearance later and a loan at Belgian club Eupen in 2022/23 whetted his appetite for regular football before a surprising move to newly promoted Championship club Sheffield Wednesday followed that summer.
The Owls finished 20th in his first season and 12th last season, a late collapse partly being blamed on their off field issues and putting paid to any aspirations of securing a Championship play-off slot.
German manager Danny Röhl’s style of play is less possession focused and more transitional. Something that seemed to suit the club on their return to the second tier and Djeidi Gassama, who enjoyed a successful individual season last time out playing over 3000 minutes across 43 appearances and scoring seven goals.
Tactical Fit
Is Gassama Built for Positional Play?
Source: RangersTV
Example: Findlay Curtis’ goal vs Panathinaikos came from holding his width, then timing his movement perfectly to receive facing goal, not with a man on his back.
Given Russell Martin’s propensity for inverted wingers in his high possession attacking style of play, it appears that all three of his current wing options, primarily suit a slot on the left wing in his flexible 4-3-3 system.
One of Martin’s oft repeated principles is “Wait for the ball, don’t run to find it.”
In his system, wingers must hold their position until the right moment — thus allowing the team to stretch the opposition and let players create separation from their opponent.
Players also need to be capable of receiving the ball on the half-turn, facing forward, and often in one vs one isolation as shown in the clip of Curtis’ goal against Panathinaikos above and in the second example in the video below.
There were several occasions last year where Gassama scored goals you may not expect this type of winger to score, such as in the example below. In the first example Djeidi appears in the box, receives the ball back to goal and spins to shoot into the opposite corner in a way you’d usually expect a centre forward to do.
Similarly, for the third and final goal in this clip, you see him motioning with his arms for the ball as he arrives in the penalty box. He slows his run well to arrive just in time to finish the cutback from the penalty spot - choosing to finish into the opposite corner away from the goalkeeper. More on that shot selection later.
These are promising signs and suggest that he does have more strings to his bow than simply just being another pacey winger who does all his best work in transition and isn’t able to link up play effectively.
The Dreaded Low Block
“Before I come on, the gaffer said stay wide and when you have the ball go one v one and do your thing that you do before. When I received the ball, I got inside and I saw the keeper.”
Gassama speaking on Rangers TV after his debut goal
There’s a school of thought that that searing pace isn’t really that effective in Scotland, primarily due to the challenges Rangers can expect to face in their domestic league. Regardless of playing home or away, some teams will always sit deep and force Rangers to break them down, meaning space in behind for quick attackers to run onto can be in short supply.
How Does He Look On The Ball?
The above FBREF Winger radar shows Djeidi Gassama’s actions over the last 12 months for Sheffield Wednesday, and underlines his clear strengths in dribbling and ball progression while noting his relatively limited end product and creativity.
Gassama ranks in the 82nd percentile for Carries into the Penalty Area and 78th for Successful Take-Ons, highlighting that standout trait: taking on his man one vs one through dribbling. This supports the eye test from certain games last season, when he receives the ball in wide areas, he’s decisive, aggressive, and crucially often successful at beating his marker.
However, Gassama sits in the bottom quartile for nearly every creative and passing metric. Again, league and club specifics need to be factored in here, but this suggests that he is absolutely capable of getting into dangerous areas. Perhaps his decision making on that final pass or once he arrives there lacks consistency at this still early stage in his career which is totally understandable.
This radar showcases a player who is a disruptor, rather than the key creative force of his team. Someone who can be used to destabilise games, stretch defences, and offer a dynamic wide option on either flank from the start of games or off the bench, depending on the opponent.
Another lens through which to analyse Gassama’s style is using the Dribbles per 100 touches metric, where he ranks 12th in the Championship amongst all wingers. While not as extreme as some of the more chaotic profiles around him here, this number still adds weight to the a clear ball-carrying mindset which Rangers fans have already seen from his brief debut.
Last season, roughly one in every four touches saw Gassama actively take on a defender. It’s a stat that captures intent, not just volume. He doesn’t appear to be that one dimensional type of player mentioned earlier in the article who needs acres of space behind a defensive line to run into.
Averaging 5.59 dribbles per 90 with a 70.5% success rate, this reinforces the opionion that he is among the Championship’s most active and effective one vs one players. His success rates against full-backs are particularly insightful: 80.8% against left-backs and 68.3% against right-backs, suggesting comfort when switching flanks and taking on defenders in wide areas. Across all duels, 50 led to a shot, 16 of those hitting the target, and five ending up as goals. Notably, three of those came from the right hand side against left-backs, reinforcing the idea that Gassama can punish defenders on the outside as well as cutting in.
Averaging 1.67 passes into the box per 90 with a 66.7% accuracy rate, he ranks above average in both volume and precision across the Championship. His delivery is varied with a clear tendency to attack from both flanks, but intriguingly with more joy off the right. From that side, he attempted 19 passes into the area, completing 13 (68.4%), while also adding 14 carries and a key pass. The left flank saw similar volume (26 carries), suggesting genuine two-footedness or tactical rotation.
This all paints a picture of a winger who consistently looks to unbalance defenders, rather than simply recycle possession or maintain shape. In a Russell Martin setup this controllable aggression could be a real asset.
Gassama doesn’t over dribble, but when given licence to attack space or isolate a full-back, he looks pretty quick to act. If Rangers can combine that patience with his explosive traits - essentially creating freedom inside a tactical structure - there could be a player there who could thrive.
Gassama’s attacking intent is further underlined by his ranking as the third most active winger in the Championship for Offensive Duels per 90 — averaging 15.67 per game. That figure places him alongside the most aggressive ball carriers in the division and confirms what the eye test often shows: he constantly looks to eliminate opponents through direct action. Offensive duels include take-ons, actions under pressure, and one vs ones and his volume here speaks not only to his self-belief, but also the tactical license he had under Danny Röhl to drive at defenders in transition.
What’s especially encouraging is that this output didn’t come in a possession-dominant team, which again underlines that he can be both confident and decisive when space appears. In Russell Martin’s system, where attacking width and one vs one execution are clearly prized tools for disrupting settled defences, Gassama’s volume here gives him the edge as a winger capable of converting patience into penetration once the moment arises.
An area of concern could be the sheer amount of the ball Gassama will be expected to have in the Scottish Premiership. Václav Černý was Rangers most regular wide player last season, averaging around 36 touches per 90 minutes. With then manager Phillipe Clement favouring a much more direct style of play, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that number could increase andd reach around 45 touches per 90 under Martin. Djeidi Gassama ranked 85th for all Championship wingers for this metric, with just 20.27 touchers per 90, further underlining the potential differences in the challenges in Sheffield and Glasgow.
On the face of it, Gassama doesn’t look to be the typical wide player in a high possession system. He isn’t a ‘connector’ in the way that Cerny was and I wouldn’t expect him to be hugely involved in rotating with his near side midfielder and full back to create space, nor is he particularly safe or creative in possession.
Gassama instead looks like that bit of X Factor as a ‘Game Breaker’ that could help a high possession style of play from looking safe, slow and predictable.
Not a Volume Shooter, But maybe a Decisive One?
As mentioned earlier, his ability to beat players and carry into the box was terrific at Championship level so he could be a highly entertaining wide player who excels in one vs one scenarios, especially when given space to isolate defenders as Rangers did to great effect for his debut goal last week in the clip below.
Source: RangersTV
This certainly showed he can be capable of adhering to that key principle of “Wait for the ball, don’t run to find it.” as he finished off a well worked team move designed to find him in the aforementioned space.
As you would expect from a right footer who plays primarily on the left, he does appear to favour cutting in on his preferred foot to shoot, but the location of these shots seems to show a willingness to mix things up and keep opposition defenders and keepers on their toes.
Watch any highlights reel and you’ll see a player who looks comfortably shooting off both flanks too, which should help create some flexibility in Rangers currently winger starved squad.
His shot volume can be considered moderate for the Championship at 1.87 shots per 90, but again consider the tactical identity of Sheffield Wednesday and their status as a mid table team in that league.
Gassama’s 14.5% goal conversion rate is above average for a winger. He scores around once every 8-9 shots, not wasteful but he’s not an elite level finisher at this stage either. Given the quality of some of his finishing and taking into account a slight overperformance on goals compared to Expected Goals over the season, this could suggest that playing in a team with more possesion would see an improvement in his scoring.
The Dirty Work
Most winger analysis tends to revolve around what they do with the ball — their dribbling, creativity, or impact in the final third. What they offer without it out of possession, is rarely given the same spotlight. It’s becoming more common in modern football analysis, but still doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
In order to gain a clearer understanding of what the data tells us about Gassama’s defensive ability, we can use the FBREF Defensive Midfielder profile for reference. This radar shows that he brings more to the table out of possession than the raw perception may suggest.
Djeidi ranks in the 67th percentile for Tackles overall, with 78th percentile in the middle third, this shows how quickly he can engage his opposition number and in what areas when pressing or defending in a higher block. Gassama is clearly not a defensive midfielder or even a natural ball-winner, but he clearly contributes when instructed to press from the front.
His 60th percentile in % of Dribblers Tackled is pretty encouraging for a winger, too. This again could suggest a willingness to engage rather than simply man marking or staying in defensive shape.
Averaging 1.67 recoveries per 90 in the attacking third and 0.62 “dangerous” recoveries (those leading to shots), he again ranks fairly well among Championship peers. The spread of recoveries is notable: 27 come in the area just outside the box, suggesting he can also press high and centrally when the moment suits. When he wins the ball it usually has an impact too, they led to 19 shots with 8 on target.
Based on this, he could perform an interesting out of possession role as a pressing wide player under Russell Martin - watch out for him potentially being very aggressive against teams who like to build up short through their full backs.
The Search for Consistency
There’s no doubt Gassama arrives at Rangers still as a raw talent rather than the finished article. At Sheffield Wednesday, opinion was quite clear - experienced journalists who watched the player regularly noted that few young players in the Championship could dominate a game quite like him on his day. But those days didn’t always come consistently.
There were matches where he drifted, where concentration lapsed or his off-ball positioning lacked the polish required in a more structured side. That’s the gig with wingers at the best of times, never mind 21 year olds: flashes of brilliance, followed by periods of quiet.
Source: Joe Crann X
Danny Röhl references this in a post match interview in the clip above. He mentioned that the player was a little too hungry to go and press and this potentially impacted his defensive duties. Gassama did go on to score the equalising goal in this game as then second bottom Sheffield Wednesday secured an FA Cup replay at home to Coventry, so swing and roundabouts I guess!
His unpredictability seems part of the attraction for Rangers and it’s that untamed potential Martin now has the task of developing - another thing he believes strongly in doing. Gassama adds an exciting dimension, provided the overall tactical structure can be engineered to suit his skills. But it also means he likely won’t be the player tasked with breaking down deep blocks through incisive passing or patterns.
Overall, this signing feels like a really sensible move - at a seemingly bargain price - provided Gassama can add that extra dimension Russell Martin hopes.
As an aside, Rangers rumoured interest in Crystal Palace’s 22 year old right winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi also feels like a really smart balance with Djeidi Gassama’s skills on the opposite flank.
Where Rak-Sakyi feels like a perfect possession system player you’d build a structure around, Gassama feels like one you’d let break it to maximum effect.