Move now, Maswanhise!

Innocent Kurira, Zimpapers Sports Hub

TAWANDA Maswanhise has played himself into a corner and it’s the kind that forces a decision.
Fifteen goals for Motherwell, big moments in big games and now the two clubs that run Scottish football are circling.

Celtic are watching. Rangers are watching too.

When both halves of the Old Firm start asking questions, a player’s season stops being “good form” and turns into a crossroads.

His latest strike came in the Scottish Cup at Fir Park, a goal that pushed Motherwell into the fifth round and put Maswanhise right in the shop window. Celtic manager Martin O’Neill was in the stands for it, sitting alongside Mark Fotheringham and that alone told its own story. In Scotland, managers don’t show up like that by accident, especially not for a player who isn’t on their list.

Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou didn’t try to pretend the interest isn’t real. He just tried to put a lid on the timing, because the danger for clubs like Motherwell isn’t the transfer itself, it’s the noise that comes with it halfway through a season.

“Yes, I am calm,” Askou said when asked about O’Neill’s presence. He admitted the attention on his squad has been growing, but made it clear he won’t allow Maswanhise’s season to be ripped apart by mid-season speculation.

“That moment is not now. We’re halfway through the season, a fantastic season so far, but there’s still room for improvement,” he said.

“We can’t keep him forever and we shouldn’t keep him forever.”

That line lands because it’s not a manager trying to shut the door. It’s a manager admitting the door is already open, he’s just deciding when the player walks through it.

Motherwell’s position is helped by the fact they’re not desperate. The club sold Lennon Miller in the summer and, with that money already banked, they’re not under immediate financial pressure to cash in again. It means Askou can talk about development and performance without sounding like a man negotiating from panic.

“There’s no plan of anyone moving on now,” he added, insisting any future talks will be handled internally and on the club’s terms.

But Scottish football doesn’t always respect plans. The Old Firm don’t spend weeks “monitoring” for fun. When Celtic and Rangers track the same player at the same time, it’s because they see something they want now, not in two seasons’ time.

For Maswanhise, the attraction is obvious. Celtic and Rangers offer European football, global attention and a stage that can change a career in one good month. They also come with the kind of pressure that eats players alive. One quiet run of games and you are out. One slow adaptation and you are a headline, not a starter.

That’s the risk Motherwell can’t carry for him. At Fir Park, Maswanhise is trusted, central, and improving with every stretch of matches. His role is clear, his goals are carrying weight, and he isn’t fighting for scraps. Another season in that environment could sharpen him further, raise his value again and make the next move even cleaner.

But football doesn’t wait for clean timing. A player can be hot in January and forgotten by July. The interest can cool, the manager can change, and a new signing can block the path. When the Old Firm come calling, the question isn’t only “can you make it?” It’s also “will they come back?”

Askou wants the growth to continue at Motherwell, and he’s saying it loudly because he knows what comes next if the noise gets too big. The Old Firm don’t just take players, they take the air out of dressing rooms too.

With Celtic already in the stands and Rangers understood to be tracking the same performances, Maswanhise is now facing the biggest decision of his Scottish career. Move while the stock is high, or stay where he’s trusted and delay what everyone can see is coming.