Thelo Aasgaard endured a disastrous 19-minute debut for Anderlecht on Friday to vindicate Derek McInnes after the Rangers manager sanctioned his £1 million loan departure.
The 24-year-old Norwegian international arrived in Belgium on transfer deadline day following Rangers’ European exit, with Anderlecht holding a permanent purchase option to complete the deal next summer.
Tactical Struggles In Belgium
Aasgaard struggled against Mechelen, losing possession and overhitting set pieces. Anderlecht manager Vitor Bruno actively corrected the playmaker during an injury stoppage, handing him a handwritten tactical note to explain his system.
Following the match, Bruno publicly criticised his new arrival without being directly prompted.
“Aasgaard is an international, but he struggled to understand where he needed to move,” Bruno said via Rangers News.
“He needed to drop between the lines more, into midfield, to take control of the game.”
Midfield Competition Prompts Exit
Sanctioning the departure proved pragmatic for McInnes. Minsu Kim recently arrived to operate in attacking midfield, suddenly pushing Aasgaard down the domestic pecking order.
The move clears room to build an efficient attacking unit, while further validating the manager’s recent Ibrox loan decisions to streamline an unbalanced squad.
Aasgaard’s long-term future at Ibrox now depends heavily on Anderlecht triggering their permanent purchase clause at the end of the campaign.
Rangers travel to face Celtic in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday 20 September.
