Couhaib Driouech has broken his silence following the collapse of his move to Rangers, with his appearance at Ibrox now explained. The 24-year-old winger was on the brink of a £7million switch to the Glasgow club, but the deal fell apart after Rangers medical staff flagged an injury concern.
Medical Dispute Ends Deal
Rangers had lined up the transfer after manager Derek McInnes called for reinforcements in wide areas. The Moroccan international attended Thursday's Europa League qualifier against Jagiellonia Bialystok, watching from the stands as Rangers were eliminated in a 1-1 draw.
Record Sport revealed that the deal collapsed because the attacker was carrying a slight injury, with Rangers bosses worried the knock would sideline him for a key period. PSV disputed the severity and the expected recovery timeline.
Player's Expectations and Agent's Role
According to Eindhovens Dagblad, Driouech expected to be unveiled on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, with his agent Annas El Ghouche flying out on Wednesday to finalise the deal. However, Rangers' medical team indicated the injury could keep the player out for six weeks, while PSV claimed it would be just a week. Rangers then said they could not honour the verbal agreement with PSV.
The report states the "blow hadn't yet landed for Driouech," and he attended the match with El Ghouche "despite their doubts" as they "still believed the deal might go through." The plug was formally pulled on Friday morning, with the player set to return to Eindhoven.
PSV's Response
During the uncertainty, Driouech posted a cryptic message on his Instagram story. PSV director of football Earnest Stewart revealed the player's mindset after the veto, telling Dutch media: "Couhaib is really upset about it. Very unfortunate. He was left in uncertainty for 48 hours."
Stewart added: "Everything was also postponed by a day, and he has barely been able to do anything. We are now getting a disillusioned player back. That is not nice. During the four to six weeks in which they believe he is unavailable, the whole deal suddenly falls apart. This concerns a period of more than 200 weeks during which he would be under contract. After all, it was a four-year contract."
