Jason Jones

Tue 6 October 2020 20:30, UK

Just because the transfer window has closed doesn’t mean that Rangers are done conducting their business. 

The Gers confirmed that they had completed a move for South Africa international on Monday, but he may not be the only new face to arrive at Ibrox in the near future.

According to reliable West Ham source ExWHUemployee, Steven Gerrard’s men have expressed an interest in signing Jack Wilshere now that he has had his contract with the Hammers terminated by mutual consent.

But given how far his star has fallen in recent years, would he be a worthwhile addition in Glasgow?

There are a few points to address here.

Firstly, Wilshere’s wages in London were astronomical, coming in at around £100,000-per-week.

Any deal for the former Arsenal man would require him to take a major pay cut to facilitate it.

Secondly, injuries have cruelly blighted his career, and bringing him to Ibrox would have to come with the caveat that he can prove his fitness first.

It would appear, however, that he has turned something of a corner in recent times.

According to the player himself he has been fully fit for the past eight months, but has not been given an opportunity to prove his fitness due to a lack of game time.

That brings us on to the final point here – can Wilshere still cut it?

It’s one thing to be fully fit, but can he still influence a game in the same way that he did in the early stages of his career, when he looked destined to be a generational talent for club and country?

If we compare Wilshere’s stats from the 2019/20 campaign, when he was last getting regular minutes, to his overall career averages, there are certainly positives and negatives.

On the plus side, the 28-year-old’s passing looks to be improving over time.

As per Wyscout, his pass completion average last season was 2.4% higher than usual.

In particular, his passes into the final third were 2% higher, and his passes into the penalty area were 10% higher.

Pleasingly, he still looks to have good range to his passing too.

The graphic above shows the four passes Wilshere played into the box against Newport County in the Carabao Cup last season.

As we can see, he is still capable of hurting teams from deep-lying positions, as well as playing the snappy, intricate passing that was so synonymous with his early career at Arsenal.

Less promising, however, is the drop-off in Wilshere’s ball-carrying ability.

The midfielder made 9.4% fewer successful dribbles than usual last season, as well having 0.7 fewer progressive runs per 90 minutes.

The graphic above shows the five attempted that Wilshere made against Manchester United last term, completing none of them.

Sadly, that’s not particularly a rarity either.

Wilshere failed to complete a single dribble in six different matches last season.

Given that dribbling ability was such an integral part of Wilshere’s game during the earlier stages of his career, it’s fair to say that Rangers wouldn’t be getting the same player that he once was.

But that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t still have something to offer, and if Gerrard played to his strengths – allowing him to sit and distribute with minimal running – then he could add a huge dollop of class to the Gers’ midfield unit.

In other Rangers news, this midfielder is not joining the Gers.