Philippe Clement has praised Nils Koppen for his contribution at Rangers.
Clement left Ibrox in February, and the club have had a difficult period since then. Danny Rohl was appointed as manager this week.
Koppen stepped down from his role as Rangers technical director in June. Earlier this week, FC Copenhagen appointed him as their chief scout.
Tipsbladet have interviewed Clement to discuss the work done by Koppen at Rangers and what the Danish club can expect from him.
The Belgian joined Rangers in January 2024, when Clement was in charge. The manager says he hasked the Scottish Premiership side to appoint his compatriot as technical director.
“I was one of the people who recommended him as technical director of Rangers, and fortunately the board agreed after obtaining a lot of references. Nils did particularly well at PSV, and he has a really good reputation with people who know him,” he said.
Clement is happy about the time he spent with Koppen at Rangers.
“He is very loyal, and I can only say that he is a pleasure to work with. A real team player, and I really appreciated that he is always open and honest in his communication, so you know where you can find him,” Clement explained.
Rangers had financial difficulties when Koppen was in charge, but that didn’t stop him from unearthing talents and quality players. Clement used Hamza Igamane’s signing as an example to praise the Belgian’s work.
Rangers salary budget magic worked
The 22-year-old joined Rangers from Moroccan side AS FAR in July 2024 for a reported price of £1.7m plus bonuses. They made profit by selling him to Lille for a reported fee £10.4m last summer.
“He’s a definite football freak. Lives and breathes football,” he added.
“He has an in-depth knowledge of all leagues, even the smallest ones. He watches football matches all the time, and he has created a large network for himself.”
“At Rangers, we had to cut the salary budget, and there was almost no money for transfers, but Nils solved that task really well and found Hamza Igamane in Morocco, among others, and he was completely unknown at the time.”
“He is really good at spotting potential, and I think he will find great talents and get them to FC Copenhagen.”
“It is also important for a club like FCK. They may have a lot of money by Danish standards but internationally can’t compete with the big clubs financially. That’s why it’s a huge advantage if you can get your hands on the great talents and know where to find them. Nils knows that.”
