Glasgow Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson worked with Michael Beale to bolster the squad with two new additions during the January transfer window.
The Light Blues chief struck deals to sign Nicolas Raskin and Todd Cantwell on permanent deals from Standard Liege and Norwich respectively and it will be interesting to see how they fare in the coming years.
Wilson has had mixed success in the transfer market over the years with the ex-Southampton man having unearthed some gems but also brought in flops who have struggled.
One signing the sporting director has struck gold with, however, is attacker Fashion Sakala, who joined the club ahead of the start of the 2021/22 campaign.
How much is Fashion Sakala worth now?
The Light Blues snapped the forward up from Belgian side KV Oostende on a free transfer with then-boss Steven Gerrard revealing that the club had been aware of the Zambia international for some time.
At the time of his pre-contract agreement in May 2021, Football Transfers placed his expected transfer value (xTV) at £2m (€2.3m) with that then beginning to soar as soon as he stepped foot at Ibrox.
By the end of July, his xTV rose to £3.1m (€3.5m) and the forward’s impressive performances for the Gers under Gerrard and then Gio van Bronckhorst meant that his value continued to soar.
In Scottish Premiership appearances, which shows that the marksman was able to make a significant impact at the top end of the pitch on a regular basis.
Former Gers defender Alan Hutton once hailed the forward’s playstyle, telling Football Insider: “He’s like a firework, isn’t he? You just light him and watch him go.
“He’s one of these players who plays at 100 miles per hour, he takes players on, he’s aggressive, he can get shots off.”
Sakala’s energetic, high-intensity, performances resulted in plenty of goals and assists in his debut campaign and they also led to his xTV soaring to an impressive £5.3m (€6m) in December 2021 – an increase of 165% from his initial value at the time of his move to the club.
The £8.3k-per-week attacker has fluctuated since then, currently sitting at £2.8m (€3.2m), but his initial burst and a return of 17 goals and 13 assists in 78 competitive appearances for Rangers shows that Wilson struck gold by bringing him to Ibrox.
Since arriving in Glasgow, the 25-year-old’s market value has soared and the gem has provided plenty of quality in the final third by delivering goals and assists – including 11 goal contributions in 13 Premiership starts this term.