We may have only scratched the surface of the former Rangers man’s potential.
And that is a scary thought indeed, a man who blossomed from a youth team player into one of the Scottish Premiership’s stand-out performers taking his game to yet another level since leaving Ibrox last summer.
A brace in PSV Eindhoven’s 8-0 thrashing of Heerenveen not only earned Malik Tillman the Player of the Week award by Dutch newspaper Voetbal International, it also took his tally of ‘goal contributions’ to 24 in just 37 matches for the Eredivisie champions-elect.
No wonder PSV, who can claim the title with a win at home to Sparta Rotterdam this weekend, are determined to do what Rangers could not and turn his short-term loan deal from Bayern Munich into a permanent transfer.
Malik Tillman can become PSV’s joint-record signing
PSV have a£13 million option-to-buy clause in Tillman’s contract. One that, if triggered, will make the USA international the joint-most expensive signing in the history of one of Dutch football’s traditional ‘big three’.
But coach Peter Bosz has no doubts that, presuming Tillman maintains his current rate of progress, a man who doesn’t even celebrate his 22nd birthday for another couple of weeks could be worth every penny and then some.
“If he continues to develop like this,” Bosz tells Voetbal Primeur. “Then he is a player for the absolute top.”
Tillman, who actually helped knock his current club out of the Champions League at the qualification phase in his first few weeks as a Rangers player in 2023, endured a sluggish start to life in the Netherlands. He has made himself indispensable since the winter turned into the spring, however, scoring or assisting seven goals in his last four Eredivisie outings alone.
“(Signing Tillman permanently) is the intention, yes,” PSV’s CEO Marcel Brands told ESPN a few days ago.
Forward has made big progress since Rangers spell
The final decision on Tillman’s future, however, rests with Bayern Munich. Rangers had their hopes of a permanent deal ki-boshed a year ago, Bayern opting to cancel his loan deal before farming him out to a PSV side who put a far larger option-to-buy clause on the table.
“I watched a lot of videos of him before he came to us. A good player and a great talent,”Tillman‘s former Rangers manager Giovanni Van Bronckhorst told RTL.
“(Tillman) did a great job for us last year. He’s strong on the ball and also with his work ethic. He also reads the game and he has good dribbling ability.
“I do think Rangers wanted to buy him, but Bayern Munich bought off the option to buy that Rangers had. That’s why he is now at PSV.”
Rangers, fighting for a title themselves, face Kilmarnock on Sunday hoping to draw level with Old Firm neighbours Celtic at the top of the table.
