Michael Beale is feeling “positive” after talks to turn Malik Tillman’s loan deal at Rangers into a permanent move.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder joined on loan from Bayern Munich last summer with the Govan club having an option to buy and he showed his worth with a double in the 2-0 home cinch Premiership win over bottom side Dundee United.
Tillman got the breakthrough with a confident finish in the 38th minute then added a second in the 55th minute to make it six goals in six games and 12 for the season.
After a “comfortable” victory where the Gers boss looked only for his side to be more “ruthless,” Beale spoke about the match-winner, saying: “There is an option there that we can take but the player has a say too and so does the club that he is at.
“A lot of things are agreed but obviously there has been a change of manager there as well (with Thomas Tuchel taking charge at Bayern).
“It is not a part of the negotiations I am involved in but I am fully up to speed with it. There were more talks over the international break as well.
“Everything at the moment is positive. Me and Malik have a fantastic relationship and I think he really enjoys playing here.
“I think you can see the way he’s grown in the time he’s been here that he’s enjoying his football.”
Asked if he had the feeling from Tillman that he wants to be at Ibrox next season, Beale said: “Yeah. I’ve never felt anything different. He’s really locked into the staff and invested in the team.
“Since we arrived we’ve made a lot of modifications to his game.
“We asked him to play close to Alfredo Morelos today so we could play into them when Dundee United sat deep.
“It was a slight change for him but he’s come away with two goals. He’s shown he can do a variety of jobs.
“At such a young age, I think he’s got a really high ceiling. Everything is positive around the boy at the moment.”
Dundee United are without a win in 10 games in all competitions and remain two points behind second-bottom Ross County, who play league leaders Celtic on Sunday.
The Tayside outfit never looked like they could emerge from Ibrox with a result but boss Jim Goodwin, who signed a short-term deal on March 1, insists there were positives to take from the game.
He said: “In the last four games I’ve seen a lot of positives. I see a team that hasn’t thrown in the towel and is very much up for the fight.
“I don’t think any neutrals would have given us much of a chance. Rangers are on a good run of form and we knew how difficult it was going to be.
“I didn’t see a lack of effort or commitment from the players. We kept going and stuck to the task. They are up for the fight.”
Goodwin revealed the luckless Peter Pawlett came off in the first half with a recurrence of a hamstring injury.
The former St Mirren and Aberdeen boss said: “The wee man is gutted. I have not had a chance to see him after the game. He is very down as you can imagine.
“He looked close to tears when he came off because of how hard he has worked to get back fit.
“In recent games he has added that bit of quality. To lose him is disappointing but right now it is too early to say in terms of duration.”
