Rangers skipper James Tavernier could lose his spot as Borna Barisic set to return v Motherwell
Rangers skipper James Tavernier could lose his spot in the starting line-up when the Gers face Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership on Boxing Day at Ibrox.
According to a report from the Daily Record (26 December, page 48), Croatian left-back Borna Barisic is due to report back for duty today.
Barisic may be set to occupy the left-back role in the absence of Ridvan Yilmaz, which means Micheal Beale will have to make a big decision on the right-back situation.
Youngster Adam Devine has been superb in recent games and he can challenge Tavernier for the starting role.
The rookie right-back has performed admirably well, filling in for Barisic at left-back. He impressed against Hibernian, Aberdeen and Ross County and it will be really harsh to drop him.
Nathan Patterson may have been used in the dual job of playing at both flanks during his time at Ibrox, and it could have earned him a move to the Premier League. Devine, 19, can be expected to be a similar role.
He is a natural right-back and should do even better when playing in his comfort zone.
Beale believes that Devine will “jump up 25 per cent” if he moves to his natural position.
“I’d like to have a decision to make to be honest as in a few areas we’ve just had to play with what we’ve got,” said Beale, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“But Adam has done himself no harm. He’ll jump up 25 per cent if he moves over to his natural position.”
Dropping Tavernier is almost unthinkable, but Beale can afford to be ruthless here. He wants to build a new Rangers side where young players are likely to be the fabric of his side.
Tavernier has been pretty flat in recent months. He is still a top-quality right-back, but the emergence of Devine will add competition in the right-back role, something we haven’t seen for a while.
In other Rangers news, a £5million twist has emerged in Southampton’s bid to sign Ryan Kent.