06 July 2006

SENEGALESE midfielder Makhtar N'Diaye has the chance to prove his worth to Rangers after having his trial period extended.

N'Diaye, who worked under Paul Le Guen at Rennes four years ago, trained all of last week at Murray Park and played in a closed door game against Hamilton last Saturday.

He showed enough to his former boss that he could be a worthy addition to the squad and is now on the plane for the eight-day training and match tour of South Africa.

Le Guen, however, has decided not to pursue an interest in striker Cyril Chapuis, also a former charge at Rennes, and Juventus youngster Davide Tosetti.

The manager said: "N'Diaye will come to South Africa on an extended trial because he has interested me this past week.

27 June 2006

PAUL LE GUEN will invite three players to Ibrox on trial this week as he continues his Rangers revolution.

Record Sport understands former Marseille striker Cyril Chapuis, Senegal's World Cup 2002 midfield player Makhtar N'Diaye, right, and Juventus youngster Davide Tesotti are expected to check in at Murray Park over the next 24 hours.

All three will be given the chance to win a place in the Frenchman's rebuilding programme.

The offer will come as a lifeline to both Chapuis and N'Diaye who were key men in Le Guen's Rennes team but whose careers have been in decline almost ever since.

Chapuis was tipped for big things when Le Guen sold him on to Marseille in January 2002 but his career at the Velodrome failed to take off. He was loaned to Leeds United two years ago but played just one top-team game then had spells at Strasbourg and Ajaccio.

He has spent the last six months out of football after a proposed move to Belgian topflight outfit FC Brussels fell through.

Le Guen knows enough about the player, who was born in Lyon, to offer him this chance to resurrect his career.

The same can be said of freekick specialist N'Diaye. Still only 24, he has spent the past 12 months in relative obscurity in the Swiss League with minnows Yverdon-Sport.

But perhaps the most intriguing of the trio is Davide Tosetti, who has been plucked from the Juventus youth ranks.

Tosetti, also a midfield player, is only 18 but has been a big part of the Turin giants' successful youth team.

However, all the scandal-hit club's youngsters were asked to report for crisis talks last week amid growing fears Juventus could face relegation this summer as part of a probe into match-fixing.

Tosetti and his colleagues were advised to seek out options and now the teenager could be set to follow in the footsteps of Rino Gattuso who cut his teeth at Ibrox before going on to star for AC Milan and the Italian national side. Source - Daily Record