Ibrox View: Vital trait proves that 28y/o would be ideal replacement for Rangers big name
RANGERS OPINION
If speculation is to be believed, then Rangers captain James Tavernier could quickly be approaching the end of his time at the club.
Football Insider suggest that the 28-year-old has let it be known that he wants to quit Ibrox in the summer, and the general feeling appears to be that there will be little opposition to his departure.
But while Tavernier has been somewhat maligned of late, the fact remains that if he does go, a replacement will have to be found.
And Football Insider claim that Steven Gerrard could turn his attentions to out of favour Liverpool right-back Nathaniel Clyne in a effort to fill the vacuum Tavernier would leave behind.
The report states that the 28-year-old would have to take a significant pay cut for a deal to go ahead, but does suggest that the Gers are already assessing the likelihood of it happening.
But would it be a smart move?
Certainly, you could argue that Clyne would be a little rusty.
The defender hasn’t played a senior match since May 12th 2019, and hasn’t appeared for Liverpool at all this season.
But despite that, there is no doubting his quality.
Last season he averaged a higher pass completion rate, higher cross accuracy rate, and higher ball recovery rate in his own half than Tavernier, as per Wyscout.
And a closer look at him in action proves just how much he could offer.
When talking about Tavernier, it’s hard not to look past his contribution in the final third, but Clyne would seemingly offer a decent amount of attacking threat too.
In his most recent outing, a 5-3 defeat for Bournemouth against Crystal Palace, Clyne attempted two dribbles, registering a 50% success rate, but both can tell us something about the threat he poses.
Firstly, as seen in the image above, he is very confident on the ball.
Just prior to this picture, Clyne has run at his man with pace and directness before cutting back sharply onto his right foot and sending the defender sprawling after knocking him off balance with his trickery.
He then cuts in field, gets his head up, and finds a good pass into feet.
The second example is less successful from Clyne’s point of view, and he is unable to carve out a clearcut opportunity for his side, but just look at how far forward he is in the image above.
If there were any doubts about whether or not he possesses the natural attacking instincts to replace somebody like Tavernier, this is a perfect illustration of how he would quell them.
Make no mistake, Clyne will get forward, and he will get forward often and with intent.
Would he be a good replacement for Tavernier? You could probably argue he’d actually be an improvement.
In other Rangers news, ‘Incredible’ – 24y/o admits that he was very eager to sign for Gers.