Unfortunately, just about everyone apart from Rangers benefitted from this particular deal.
His selling club got more money than they would have done had they green lit a deal with the Scottish Premiership powerhouses in 2023. The former Ibrox favourite secured a £13 million permanent move a few weeks ago. A fee nearly three times as much as Rangers were due to pay.
He also ended the campaign as a league champion, his new club cruising to the title as Rangers stumbled over the final hurdle, Old Firm rivals Celtic streaking past them with the finish line in sight.
What’s more, Malik Tillman has taken his game to a whole new level in Dutch football. The 22-year-old has matured not only on the pitch but off it too, becoming a man in Eindhoven while honing the talents that could set him on the way to the very top of the European game.
Former Rangers ace Malik Tillman getting better and better
“When you see Malik, the development he has undergone as a player, but also as a person…” Earnest Stewart, PSV Eindhoven technical director, tells the club’s official website.
“Of course, I knew Malik a little earlier from the American national team. He is a very quiet boy. At the beginning of the season, you had to get the words out (of him), and he is now doing interviews. He has developed as a person and that is reflected on the field.”
Tillman was undoubtedly one of the brightest sparks in a difficult campaign for Rangers in 2022/23. His appreciation of space, his qualities on the half turn, and his ability to find pockets in the penalty area before finishing emphatically stood out a mile in Scottish football.
Rangers had hoped to keep Tillman for the long haul, only for Bayern Munich to row back on that arrangement for a permanent deal and send him to PSV instead in the knowledge that the Dutch giants were willing to stump up substantially more.
Former Ibrox loanee is ‘an incredible talent’
At least Rangers can take some satisfaction in a seven-figure windfall, potting £1.3 million thanks to the 10 per cent sell on clause in his Tillman’s contract. But, after missing out on the title again and in the knowledge that Tillman could have helped turn another second place finish into silverware, that is not much of a consolation.
“I think he is an incredible talent,” adds Stewart, Tillman scoring nine goals and assisting 15, most of those coming in a terrific end to the campaign.
“What he can do, what he sees, also scoring ability and creativity. And what is not often noticeable, but the number of balls he recaptures on the field is truly unprecedented as an attacking player.
“Malik is really a great talent. We are very happy that he will stay at PSV even longer.”
Rangers will be hoping that lightning strikes twice as they close in on a deal for another Bayern Munich whizzkid. Winger Yusuf Kabadayi, after a loan spell at Schalke, is reportedly heading to Glasgow this summer.
Whether Kabadayi can emulate Tillman’s impact, however, remains to be seen.
“The genius that I really enjoy is Malik Tillman,” former Vitesse Arnhem, Ajax and PSV coach Aad de Mos tells Voetbal International.
“He is particularly gifted in his technique. He has proven to be an added value for this team. At PSV, he completely convinced me.
“If I could advise (director Earnest) Stewart, Brands and Bosz (about) something, I would say; ‘do business with Bayern Munich and try to keep Tillman’.”
Stewart and PSV certainly did not need De Mos to convince them to do exactly that, jumping at the chance to tie Tillman down to a long-term deal.
