Ibrox View: Plenty more to come from Rangers new boy Itten after disrupted start to 20/21
Rangers new boy Cedric Itten has endured a fairly disrupted beginning to life at Ibrox.
The Switzerland international started just one game since arriving in Scotland before being waylaid by a calf complaint.
Prior to that, the 23-year-old had made four appearances for the Gers in the Scottish Premiership, and played a full 90 minutes for the first time during the 2-0 win over Kilmarnock recently.
But we can’t help feeling that there is still an awful lot more to come from the hitman.
So far this term, Itten has a shot accuracy of 0%, having failed to hit the target from a fairly paltry three attempts, as per Wyscout.
Obviously, that in itself is a pretty underwhelming stat, but it’s only made more shocking by the fact that Itten’s shot accuracy last term was a full 45.9% higher.
It’s not all doom and gloom though.
In terms of his dribble success rate and pass completion rate, the player is actually marginally ahead of where he was last year during his time with St. Gallen in Switzerland.
And while his finishing might have left a fair amount to be desired of late, he has shown flashes of some really positive creative instincts.
In his 25 minute cameo against Livingston, for instance, Itten made two shot assists that really showcased his abilities.
In the passage of play pictured above, Itten has taken up a position wide on the left flank.
As the play moves on, the striker wanders inside and receives a lay-off from his partner Kemar Roofe.
Itten then shows fantastic vision and composure to pick out Ryan Kent on the edge of the box, threading a pass through a number of players to create the opportunity for a shot.
Granted, Kent fires just wide, but on another day, this could quite easily have been a wonderful assist.
Similarly, just minutes later, Itten showcased the natural physicality that should make him a real handful for defenders north of the border.
As a pass is played into him on the edge of the box, Itten uses his body to shield possession from his man, creating a barrier between the defender and the ball.
The forward shows great strength and awareness to keep the attack going, as well as admirable presence of mind to pop off a quick pass to James Tavernier.
Again, the shot is a fairly muted affair, but the build-up play from Itten suggests that there is a top quality target man just itching to get out.
Factor in that he contested eight aerial duels per 90 minutes to Alfredo Morelos’ 3.7 last season, and that point becomes even more apparent.
It’s been a fairly slow start to life in Scotland for Itten, but all the signs are that he is still a player to keep a definite eye on.
In other Rangers news, Leon Balogun has started life in Glasgow brilliantly.