Ibrox Exclusive: Euro journo claims Celtic player was ‘biggest competition’ for Rangers new boy
Ibrox News recently conducted an exclusive interview with renowned journalist Hanspeter Kuenzler to get his views on Rangers new boy Cedric Itten. Kuenzler is a UK sport correspondent for Swiss publication Neue Zürcher Zeitung…
Rangers new boy Cedric Itten’s “biggest competition” as a youth player was Celtic striker Albian Ajeti, according to Swiss journalist Hanspeter Kuenzler.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung correspondent suggested that the Gers 23-year-old constantly had to play second fiddle to the Parkhead forward during his early forays into the professional game.
Both players started their careers at Swiss giant FC Basel, with Kuenzler claiming that they were part of something of a golden generation.
But the reporter has also admitted that Itten struggled to make an impact over his fellow countryman.
Speaking to Ibrox News, he said: “His bad luck was at Basel.
“He was of a generation where there was a lot of competition for the same spots.
“His biggest competition was Albian Ajeti who is at Celtic. It was always Ajeti who was in front of him, so he went on loan to Luzern where he did okay for a few months.
“He was recalled to Basel, who did badly, but again he couldn’t establish himself, so he went to St. Gallen.”
Itten played 26 times for the first team at Basel, scoring just four goals in the process.
It was only with his permanent move to St. Gallen that he really began to grow as a player, hitting 36 goals in 63 outings across all competitions.
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