Ibrox View: Rarely-seen Stewart could become decent asset for Rangers in 20/21
Rangers aren’t exactly short of options in the striking department at the moment.
The Gers brought in Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe over the summer to compliment Jermain Defoe and Alfredo Morelos – although how much longer the latter will remain at Ibrox is still a matter of some debate.
Oftentimes, however, the forgotten man in Steven Gerrard’s forward line is Greg Stewart.
The 30-year-old was limited to just 16 Scottish Premiership appearances last term, including a paltry three starts.
But perhaps this season could see some increase in his level of inclusion.
With Morelos’ future more than a little uncertain, and with Jermain Defoe currently out injured, Stewart could find himself as the Gers’ third choice striker.
So far this term, Stewart has made three cameo appearances – including a 15 minute appearance against Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League round of 16 clash.
Perhaps most telling, however, was the fact that Steven Gerrard opted to bring him on over Morelos during the 2-0 win over Hamilton last weekend.
And while he may have only totalled 26 minutes over the course of those three outings, there have been some signs that he has something to offer.
As an example, his pass completion rate this term stands at 100%, while his shot accuracy is 14.3% higher than Morelos’, as per Wyscout.
Truthfully, under different circumstances, he might have already notched himself a goal too.
Against Kilmarnock, Stewart was introduced for the final eight minutes, but still looked bright enough.
He completed seven out of his eight attempted actions, giving him a success rate of 88% – 33.4% higher than Morelos’ in 2020/21.
The Scot made five out of five successful passes, but it was his single shot on target that caught the eye.
As the ball is played out wide by the Gers, Stewart is the man in blue closest to the penalty spot.
Rather than remaining stationary, however, he shows good attacking instincts by making his move across the blindside of the defender and towards the front post.
That movement occupies the defender, and helps to create space for the cutback towards the edge of the area.
The resulting shot is blocked, but the effort ricochets off a Gers man and lands back at the feet of Stewart.
Crucially, however, the striker – circled above – has the presence of mind to hold his position in space.
Intelligent centre-forward play isn’t just about knowing when to move, it’s about knowing when to stand still too.
In that respect, Stewart’s sudden stillness affords him a wonderful opportunity on goal.
The attacker does well to delay his short for just a split second to ensure that the onrushing goalkeeper and first defender don’t intervene, and his effort is struck well with good composure.
In fact, were it not for a wonderful piece of covering on the line, this would have been a brilliant goal to cap off a fairly emphatic performance from Rangers.
Hopefully Stewart gets more chances to prove himself this term, because all the signs are that he could be a real asset for Gerrard’s men.
In other Rangers news, Ibrox Exclusive: McAvennie backs Gers to avoid Europa League ‘catastrophe’ v Lincoln Red Imps.