Rangers man ends 708-day wait ahead of Ibrox return as Celtic-linked forward opens up on future
The Rangers forward was in action for his country last night.
Rangers' big summer signing Youssef Chermiti issued a timely reminder of his talents to prospective new Ibrox bosses by ending his long goal drought by scoring for Portugal under-21s in a thumping win over Gibraltar on Tuesday night.
The 21-year-old striker moved to Ibrox in the summer, joining from Everton for a reported fee of £8.5million, though he arrived with a millstone around his neck, having failed to score a single senior goal during his two years on Merseyside following his move from Sporting CP back in the summer of 2023.
The Portuguese forward is likely to be in the squad for this weekend’s game against Dundee United in Govan, and will be targeting in first goal in Rangers colours, having yet to score since his big-money move from the Toffees. While he did find the net for Portugal under-21s back in a 4-0 win over the Faroe Islands in March 2024, Chermiti’s last goal at club level came a total of 708 days ago, when he bagged a winner for Everton under-21s in a 1-0 extra-time EFL Trophy win over Mansfield Town back on November 7, 2023.
However, Chermiti managed to lift the burden from his shoulders by bagging a goal in Tuesday night’s thumping 11-0 win over Gibraltar in a under-21 European Championship qualifier at the Europa Sports Park. Placed in the same qualifying group as Scotland under-21s, the win fired his nation to the top of the table, while Scot Gemmill’s young Scots now face a mammoth task to qualify after falling to fourth despite rescuing a 3-3 with nine men against Azerbaijan in injury-time via Samuel Cleall-Harding, after both Jeremiah Mullen and Dire Mebude had been shown red cards earlier in the game.
Meanwhile, former Celtic striking target Louis Munteanu says he feels “better” at Romanian outfit CFR Cluj, following a summer of speculation that saw him heavily linked with a move to Parkhead. The Romanian international had interest from Ligue 1 sides Lille and Nice after scoring 23 goals in the SuperLiga last year. However, reports claimed Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers was the first to make an official approach, with the club reportedly launching a bid of £6.8 million in July.
The intense speculation surrounding the 23-year-old’s future resulted in the frontman ‘refusing’ to play for his club side, claiming he was unhappy with the club's asking price of around £13million, which he felt was deterring potential buyers. However, after returning to CFR Cluj’s first team in recent weeks, and scoring for Romania in their 2-1 friendly win over Moldova last week, Munteanu opened up on his future after a summer of upheaval.
“I feel better and better, and it’s clear on the field that I look good,” he told AS. “As I said in the last match against Hermannstadt, I got back on my feet. It hasn’t been an easy summer. I’m trying to focus on CFR and the national team, I’m trying to find my rhythm.”
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