Malik Tillman risks becoming Rangers liability against Celtic and Michael Beale has luxury player dilemma - Keith Jackson

The kid can play alright. As a matter of fact, Rangers might just have a truly exceptional burgeoning talent on their hands in the shape of Malik Tillman.

Put it this way, if Ross Wilson can land the American youngster on a permanent deal this summer for a fee anywhere close to the region of £5m, then the local Polizie ought to be plastering mug shots of the Ibrox club’s sporting director on every lamppost in Munich.

At the age of 20, Tillman is the definition of a steal. The boy has so much natural ability that he’s bordering on the freakish. But just because he can play it doesn’t necessarily follow that he should play when Michael Beale takes his team across Glasgow’s divide on Saturday morning for a match which simply must be won if the Londoner is to cling onto any hope of dethroning Celtic at the first attempt.

Given that Tillman scored twice at the weekend in a 2-0 win over Dundee United, it might seem like an act of borderline insanity to even consider scrubbing his name from the team sheet now that the league title is about to go on the line. But, be that as it may, Beale has a huge decision on his hands nonetheless as he attempts to throw a spanner into the works of Ange Postecoglou’s runaway, table-topping juggernaut.

Because Tillman at the top of his game could be a potential match-winner. And yet, conversely, he might also be such a luxury that he becomes a liability and a passenger that Rangers cannot possibly afford to carry across to the other side of the city. As absurd as it may sound, if Beale subscribes to the commonly held belief that the first rule of beating Celtic is to match their levels of energy and industry then it could be that Tillman might be better sitting this one out, from the start