The moment Amad Diallo appeared at Ross County's back post to score five minutes into his debut for Rangers in January 2022, some of the 19-year-old's new team-mates looked at each other with a sense of excitement and anticipation.
They had heard about the young Ivorian's £19m (plus almost the same again in add-ons) move from Atalanta to Old Trafford and in the early training sessions of his six-month spell in Scotland they had seen his pace, his trickery and his two-footedness.
"I remember everyone speaking about how good a signing this boy was going to be for us," recalls Scott Arfield, a member of that Rangers squad.
"Watching him in training, he reminded me a bit of James Maddison, who I'd played with at Aberdeen," says Ryan Jack, the former Rangers and Dons man.
"When you looked at Amad, you knew he had something different. There were things that were next level about him. Passing drills, finishing drills, small-sided games. The way he struck a ball.
"You could tell in his first sessions with us he had this ability to step past players with relative ease," says Steven Davis, a veteran of that Rangers side.
"He wasn't big, but he was deceptively strong. He was hard to knock off the ball. And then he scores a few minutes into his debut."
This is the story of Diallo's time at Rangers, a time that most football people in Scotland - including many at Ibrox - cannot remember a whole lot about.
Diallo is now a bright light in the Old Trafford gloom, the scorer of a late hat-trick against Southampton, the guy who came up with the 80th-minute equaliser against Liverpool and the 90th-minute winner against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium.
He scored a 120th-minute winner against Liverpool in a 4-3 FA Cup epic last season. He got 14 goals during a coruscating loan spell at Sunderland the season before.
Before that, it was Rangers and the terrific start in front of fewer than 6,500 people in Dingwall. But after that promising beginning, well, it got difficult, put it that way.
Like a giddy kid, which he was, he went on Instagram after the Ross County game and posted a highlights reel of his best moments. Scotland wasn't having it. He got pilloried, which was the start of what Jack calls his "massive learning curve".
'Big reaction was unwarranted'
Rangers played 29 games in Diallo's time in Glasgow, he appeared in 13 of them and started just six. Celtic away was his second game.
That night was peak Ange Postecoglou at Celtic; 3-0 ahead at the break, and cruising. Players-turned-pundits lined up to kick Diallo in the aftermath - "a rabbit in the headlights", "in the wrong movie", "half-hearted".
He did not reappear for the second half and now the brutal reality of how claustrophobic and unforgiving life can be if you are playing for the beaten half of the Old Firm hit him between the eyes.
"There was a big reaction to his performance that night and it was unwarranted," recalls Davis. "We know what the goldfish bowl is like in Glasgow and when you don't have a good performance, you're the worst in the world."
Arfield said he was troubled when Diallo came in for such stick at the time: "I didn't think you could pin that defeat on him. We were miles off it as a team, all of us. But he seemed to come in for particular criticism. And I remember just thinking, 'wow, this is a real welcome to Rangers'."
The intensity was too much and Diallo faded away. Arfield, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Aribo and Scott Wright were all given time in his position. He got five minutes against Heart of Midlothian and 17 minutes against Dundee United.
Against United, he hit the post at 1-1. Had he squared it instead of going for goal, Rangers would have scored. They dropped points they could ill afford to drop that day.
Then, 23 minutes against Dundee, 27 minutes against St Mirren, half an hour against Motherwell, three minutes against Celtic. He was still only 19. Alien city, demanding club and now racism.
On Instagram he spoke about getting racist slurs and insults about his mother. He did not elaborate on where the abuse came from - in a stadium or online - but it was a grim period for him.
"As a practising Muslim I was raised differently and my education is to respect everyone," he wrote.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwypj8dx5ryo
Amads rise from Rangers flop to Utd saviour
posted on 23/1/25
I remember reading that Rangers fans by the end of his loan were very fond of him. Maybe on paper the loan wasn’t great but it sounds like it probably made a big impact on him mentally and probably helped mold him into the person/player he is today.
I do think some fans don’t fully understand the full purpose of a loan, it’s not just about the performances on the pitch. It’s largely about helping kids grow and develop as humans and gaining independence outside of a more comfortable environment.
posted on 23/1/25
I remember reading that Rangers fans by the end of his loan were very fond of him.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Apart, perhaps, from the cohort that racially abused him
posted on 23/1/25
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 16 minutes ago
I remember reading that Rangers fans by the end of his loan were very fond of him.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Apart, perhaps, from the cohort that racially abused him
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He should think himself fortunate he wasn't Irish Catholic.
posted on 23/1/25
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 15 minutes ago
I remember reading that Rangers fans by the end of his loan were very fond of him.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Apart, perhaps, from the cohort that racially abused him
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wasnt rangers fans it was Celtic fans ya b3llend. We played well in a win and the celtic fans went onto instagram to abuse him.
posted on 23/1/25
comment by whodunnit (U22710)
posted 1 hour, 38 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 15 minutes ago
I remember reading that Rangers fans by the end of his loan were very fond of him.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Apart, perhaps, from the cohort that racially abused him
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wasnt rangers fans it was Celtic fans ya b3llend. We played well in a win and the celtic fans went onto instagram to abuse him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Big bad Celtic
posted on 23/1/25
comment by Silver (U6112)
posted 1 hour, 46 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 16 minutes ago
I remember reading that Rangers fans by the end of his loan were very fond of him.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Apart, perhaps, from the cohort that racially abused him
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He should think himself fortunate he wasn't Irish Catholic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He feels very very fortunate to not be a an Irish Catholic, most of us do
posted on 23/1/25
He was built like a crisp packet when he was with us, no use in such a physical league.
Rangers teams don't get space to run into domestically, at least 8 of the teams in the league will sit back in every game against us which he struggled with.
Glad he's used that as motivation and kicked on, no doubts about him now. Hope he's schite tonight right enough but could see him getting it up us.
posted on 23/1/25
comment by whodunnit (U22710)
posted 39 minutes ago
comment by Silver (U6112)
posted 1 hour, 46 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 16 minutes ago
I remember reading that Rangers fans by the end of his loan were very fond of him.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Apart, perhaps, from the cohort that racially abused him
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He should think himself fortunate he wasn't Irish Catholic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He feels very very fortunate to not be a an Irish Catholic, most of us do
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not sure why because they're getting al the top jobs apparently
posted on 23/1/25
comment by Silver (U6112)
posted 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 16 minutes ago
I remember reading that Rangers fans by the end of his loan were very fond of him.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Apart, perhaps, from the cohort that racially abused him
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He should think himself fortunate he wasn't Irish Catholic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ach the majority of Irish Catholics in Glasgow are really Scottish atheist bed wetters anyway.
posted on 23/1/25
Comment Deleted by Article Creator