Ryan Naderi may well be just two games into his Glasgow Rangers career, although the signs already appear promising, not least following the German’s first start at Ibrox last time out.

Deployed alongside summer signing Bojan Miovski, the towering striker popped up with two headers in the early stages of both halves, ensuring he now already boasts half the number of goals that Youssef Chermiti has chalked up this season, following the latter man’s club record summer capture.

Both Chermiti and Miovski, who have scored just eight Premiership goals between them in 2025/26, have found life difficult in Glasgow over the last six months or so, following in the recent trend of striker signings backfiring for the Light Blues.

Hopefully, following an encouraging first start for the club on Sunday, Naderi can fare far better than the disappointing list of names that have come before him.

How former Rangers strikers are faring this season

So many names have tried and failed to be the replacement or successor to Alfredo Morelos at Ibrox in recent seasons, with the Colombian leaving a real vacuum following his exit back in the summer of 2023.

The polarising forward initially struggled following that departure, scoring four times in 20 games for Santos, although he now boasts 48 goals and assists in 93 games for Atletico Nacional, including eight goals in the most recent Colombian league season.

Elsewhere, other departures from that same summer have endured mixed fortunes this term, with Fashion Sakala scoring seven times in 18 Pro League games for Saudi side Al Fayha. Antonio Colak, meanwhile, has scored just two league goals in Poland for Legia Warsaw.

Another man whose time at Ibrox was altogether brief is Sam Lammers, with the forgettable Dutchman having scored three times for FC Twente in the Eredivisie this term, after previously netting just twice in 31 games in total back in Glasgow.

The oft-maligned Cyriel Dessers has only scored twice in Greece’s top-flight for Panathinaikos this time around, following his summer exit from Ibrox, with it having been a far more fruitful switch for Hamza Igmane, who boasts nine from his first 18 at Lille, albeit with just five of those coming from Ligue 1.

Of the more prolific figures this season among Rangers’ ghosts of strikers past is actually Cedric Itten, with the Swiss flop up to nine league goals in Germany’s second tier for Dusseldorf, shining in the division above Naderi’s former club, Hansa Rostock.

Itten isn’t alone either in flourishing in Bundesliga 2, with Rangers having perhaps let a bigger talent than Naderi slip from their grasp on the quiet.

Forgotten Rangers star is now looking even better than Naderi

Naderi’s last-gasp capture looks like being an exciting one based on his Queen’s Park double, but this is still a real gamble for the Gers, considering his relative inexperience in a high-profile league.

Indeed, while the youngster did score eight goals in the first half of 2025/26, that came in Germany’s third division, ensuring he is something of an unknown quantity in truth.

Like Itten, one man who is actually thriving at a step above is Mateusz Zukowski, with the Polish star in red-hot form this season for FC Magdeburg.

Now, it’s fair to say that the 24-year-old isn’t exactly a household name back at Ibrox, having only ever made one appearance for the club at first-team level, having signed from Lechia Gdansk back in January 2022.

The then-youngster was originally brought in as a back-up to James Tavernier at right-back, although he never truly got a look-in in Glasgow, swiftly sent on loan back to Poland to join Lech Poznan.

Starting XI for Zukowski’s only game
3-0 win vs Annan Athletic – 12 Feb 2022
Position	Player
GK	McLaughlin
RB	Zukowski
CB	Sands
CB	Helander
LB	Barisic
CM	Davis
CM	Amad
RM	Wright
AM	Ramsey
LM	Sakala
ST	Roofe

The £400k signing then moved on permanently to Slask Wroclaw for an undisclosed fee in 2023, prior to making the switch to Germany in 2025.

That latest move has proven particularly fruitful, with the one-time full-back now shining as a winger or an outright centre-forward, having made a stunning transition in recent seasons.

At present, Zukowski has scored nine times in 11 games this season, all of which have come in Germany’s second division, ensuring he boasts a better record than Naderi had achieved back at Rostock.

For context too, that tally of nine also betters every player back at Rangers in the Premiership, with Tavernier leading the way with seven from his right-back berth.

To think Zukowski was once vying to rival the Englishman in defence, yet is now starring as a centre-forward in what is deemed to be the 30th best league in the world, as per Global Football Rankings, ranking ahead of the Premiership (33rd).

What an intriguing career it has already been for the young Pole then. with Rangers’ ‘trash’ having become someone else’s treasure.