Rabbi Matondo in Rangers rejuvenation tip as former captain pulls back curtain on Vincent Kompany sales pitch

Hannes van der Bruggen always thought Rabbi Matondo would make the perfect Kompany man for Anderlecht.

And the Cercle Brugge skipper is adamant the forgotten Ibrox ace can still do the business for Rangers. Van der Bruggen spent 10 months playing beside the Welsh winger during last year’s season-long loan from Schalke, a spell that saw Matondo emerge as the Jupiler Pro League’s hottest import. The speedster’s performances created such a stir in the Belgian market that all the country's top clubs were queuing up to do a deal.

His Cercle captain reckoned the 22-year-old would have been an ideal acquisition for domestic giants Anderlecht and even pitched a proposed hook up with Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany, who at that point was in charge of the Brussels big guns. In the end, it was Rangers who successfully negotiated a £2.5million fee to bring Matondo to Scotland but that hasn’t been much return on that investment so far for the Ibrox side.

Boss Michael Beale admitted Matondo has been suffering a “crisis of confidence” since moving to Glasgow but Van der Bruggen is in no doubt his former team-mate can still be a significant asset for Gers.

“I always felt Anderlecht should have signed Rabbi,” the Cercle midfielder told Record Sport. "At that time, Vincent Komapny was there and I had a feeling that he really would fit into they style.

“Under Kompany, they played brilliant football with quick circulation of the ball and I told Rabbi he would really fit in well there. I know there were some teams from Belgium interested in him and I told Rabbi that he had the perfect profile to be a big success in our league.

“The supporters in Anderlecht especially really like creative players and Rabbi that’s exactly what Rabbi was