Amid his breakout campaign at Rangers, Malik Tillman has said he needs some time to sort out where he’s playing next season.
The U.S. national team midfielder has scored 10 league goals on loan from Bayern Munich this term, becoming one of the top attacking midfielders in the Scottish Premiership during his first full season of senior-team soccer.
Rangers head coach Michael Beale has consistently stated he’d like to sign the 20-year-old on a permanent basis at the end of the season, with Rangers holding a reported £5 million purchase option.
But Bayern also reportedly holds a buy-back clause that it could trigger immediately after Rangers use their own purchase option.
That has left Tillman’s future very much in the air. Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Saturday’s Old Firm derby against Celtic, the USMNT midfielder said he’d need to chat with both of his prospective managers before making a decision.
“I think I have to listen to both managers, the Rangers one and the Bayern one, and see what they say and where they see me and see what the plan is for the future and then I can decide,” Tillman said.
Tillman’s teammate Todd Cantwell expressed his desire to see the U.S. international at Ibrox for the long term.
“As a Rangers player but also as Rangers fans he’s the sort of player you want to keep here. He’s only going to get better as he gets older which is pretty scary actually,” Cantwell said.
“We want him here. He’s a fantastic footballer and I think he’s pretty aware of how much he is loved here.”
🗣️ "We're building, we're not the perfect model yet. The manager's made it clear what team we want to be & it's really exciting."
Todd Cantwell & Malik Tillman on their relationship on and off the pitch, facing Celtic, the future & more. Watch the Old Firm on Sky tomorrow 📺 pic.twitter.com/peomcBPsO2
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) April 7, 2023
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