Glasgow Rangers manager Michael Beale has dropped a hint to the Ibrox board over his wish to see Malik Tillman sign on a permanent basis.
The Lowdown: Tillman's time at Rangers
The Premiership giants signed Tillman on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich with an option to buy. Since then, the 20-year-old has gone on to make 23 appearances for the Gers across all competitions, scoring four goals and delivering three assists along the way.
On Saturday, the American scored two goals in Rangers' 3-0 friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen, which led to Beale sharing his thoughts on the player's future at Ibrox.
The Latest: Beale's verdict on Tillman
Speaking after seeing the midfielder in action against Leverkusen (via Daily Record), the Rangers boss admitted that he would "definitely" make Tillman a permanent player at Ibrox if possible.
Beale said: "I’m delighted that Malik’s here and we’re going to give him the freedom to run out of midfield and get into positions he was in today. We have to let Malik go and make the game and make the team.
"In football you have ideas but players dictate and I have to allow these players to go and express themselves. Malik is a fantastic talent and we’re lucky to have him here in Scotland.
"He’s only 20 but he has a huge future ahead of him, hopefully for this club. Would you buy him? I would. It's a pretty obvious one.
"He's exactly what I like in a footballer. He can take the ball, he can twist and turn and you can see what he could grow into.
"He's exactly the type of player we want at this club. I don't know the exact fee or where we are going to get it from but if we can do it, I would definitely sign Malik, yes."
The Verdict: A no-brainer for Rangers
Throughout the current Premiership campaign, Tillman has shown how impressive he can be for Rangers in an attacking and defensive sense.
For example, in addition to boasting the third-highest number of shots on target (10) at the club, he has also won more tackles (20) than any other player at Ibrox, marking him out as someone who can be effective in the final third and diligent further back the pitch.
His overall performances, which have been described as "outstanding" by The Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell, have earned the on-loan midfielder a season rating of 7.11/10 from WhoScored, making him the seventh-highest rated player at Rangers.
Taking all of that into account, it would appear to be a no-brainer for the Gers to do all they can to make Tillman's loan move permanent in the summer, duly making Beale a happy man in the process.