BBC Sportscene pundit raves about ‘Fantastic, Brilliant’ Rangers ace who’s proven doubters wrong
BBC Sportscene pundit Marvin Bartley has heaped praise on Rangers midfielder Steven Davis, claiming he’s proven a lot of doubters wrong since returning to Ibrox.
Davis, 36, has played a vital role at Ibrox this season, appearing 28 times across all competitions for the Premiership leaders.
Injuries to Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield have increased the importance of the Northern Irishman’s role in Steven Gerrard’s midfield but despite his advancing years, the ex-Aston Villa and Southampton man has flourished.
Former Hibernian player Bartley believes there was scepticism surrounding Davis’ return to Glasgow in 2019 but the midfielder has managed to prove a lot of people wrong.
“It’s difficult to get near him,” Bartley said on BBC Sportscene on Sunday.
“He’s a fantastic player and he’s come back to Rangers and he’s improved them again.
“I think a few people thought he was in his twilight years and was going to come up here and take his foot off the gas but he hasn’t.
“He’s taken the standard up, he’s been brilliant whenever he’s played and he’s a real asset to the football club.”
Outstanding Davo deserves new deal
Davis’ contract at Ibrox expires at the end of the season and usually, when a central midfielder turns 36, clubs start to consider letting him go.
However, in Davis’ case, there’s simply no way he should be going anywhere with the ex-Northern Ireland international showing that he’s still one of the best players in Scottish football this season.
According to stats by WhoScored, only four Premiership players average more passes per appearance than Davis this season [76] with the Rangers ace completing 88.8 per cent of those passes, which ranks him seventh in the top-flight.
Leon Balogun [1.4] is the only player to average more interceptions per game than Davis [1.3] in the Rangers squad while James Tavernier [2] is the only Ger to average more tackles per game than him [1.8].
Davis’ brilliance is laid bare to see when Rangers have the ball and when they don’t.
And when they don’t have the ball, they have it back in no time for the veteran midfielder to dominate thanks to his fantastic ability to read the game.
Davis is showing no signs of slowing down and we want to see him get at least another 12 months at Ibrox.
In other Rangers news, Kaveh Solhekol has shared a major transfer update on this Ibrox-linked Premier League player.