Malik Tillman has made quite the presence in Scotland with Rangers this season and the American attacker’s impact could very well earn him several club awards this May.
Tillman has been nominated for Rangers’ Player of the Year award, in addition to the club’s Young Player of the Year and Goal of the Year awards. The Bayern Munich loanee is joined by club captain James Tavernier and veteran defender Borna Barisic for the Player of the Year award.
The 20-year-old arrived in Glasgow last August and has played a vital role under both Giovanni Van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale this season.
Tillman is one of four Rangers players to have recorded 10+ goals in the Scottish Premiership this season, and in total have 12 goals and five assists in all competitions. He has made 42 combined appearances for Rangers, including helping the Scottish club reach the UEFA Champions League group stage back in August.
Tillman’s loan is set to end this June with Rangers still reportedly interested in acquiring him outright from Bayern Munich.
The former German youth national team played switched his international allegiance to the USMNT last summer. Tillman debuted under Gregg Berhalter in June 2022, logging 25 minutes in a 3-0 friendly win over Morocco.
He also featured against both Japan and Saudi Arabia in the Americans’ final pre-World Cup friendlies in September.
Rangers sit 13 points behind league leaders Celtic and will face off with their Glasgow rivals in Scottish Cup semifinal action on Sunday.
I’m delighted he’s doing well with Rangers but I certainly don’t want to see him stay there. I’d personally like to see him jump from the SPL – which isn’t even the equal of MLS – to a next-level league like Portugal or the Dutch Eredevisie. Yes, he’s 20 now…but he’s also effectively 19 in soccer terms because he lost a year to an ACL tear and while his ceiling looks like it could be near-unlimited and is probably top 2 or 3 in our pool, his appearances with the national team indicate he’s also probably not quite ready for a Top-5 league yet unless it’s maybe France. IMHO, take his progression incrementally and be willing to invest that extra year; I dunno how many promising youngsters I’ve seen who got a huge promising move…and got in over their heads, got buried on benches on teams that were a level or even two levels too high for them, and stagnated. (Looking at you, Matt Miazga, and you, Matthew Hoppe, and even to some extent Christian Pulisic. The list goes on.)
Like I said, I think you look for a team playing in a league in the 5th-8th range with a need and a track record of development (which strongly suggests the Dutch league), look for another move to a low-to-midlevel B1 team the year after that…and then see where he’s at, and if he’s truly ready for Bayern or needs to be sold along.
Developed properly, I think Tillman could well be an upgrade on Weston McKennie. He’s similarly athletic – which is saying a lot, people do not realize what an elite athlete McKennie is – but he’s far more skilled on the ball and far more dangerous around the box, though he’s more of a finesse guy and I question if he’ll ever have the bite McKennie does in the open field, too. In an ideal world you’d have both guys available for the 2026 World Cup, and maybe even the 2024 Copa America.
I think he will have suitors this summer. I could see another Bundesliga team have interest or maybe Lihue 1 team. But another year at Rangers wouldn’t be a bad option. I actually think he could help Bayern next season. Mueller isn’t getting any younger. Wouldn’t be surprised if Tuchel takes a look at him in preseason. Remember Bayern are in need of a striker. Tillman was being groomed at that position for Bayerns reserve team. He has size and athleticism and can score goals.
Hope to see him on one of the rosters this summer. Most in form Attacking CM.