Dujon Sterling will have to ‘fight for minutes’ at Rangers
New Rangers signing Dujon Sterling will have to use his adaptability to play across the backline to win his fight for minutes at Ibrox, according to Joshua Barrie of the Rangers Review.
Sterling joined manager Michael Beale’s ranks this summer on a free transfer from Chelsea and spent the 2022-23 season on loan with Stoke City playing in a variety of defensive roles, a skill that Berrie, speaking on July 20, thinks may be needed for him to find consistent minutes this season.
The right-back role at Ibrox is well and truly filled by club captain and modern-day great James Tavernier so Sterling may be in less familiar roles to make use of his obvious talents.
Discussing the familiarity of this debate, Berrie said: “Calvin Bassey was another full-back who arrived at Rangers who said she wasn’t going to play centre-back and didn’t like playing centre-back, it’s not always as straightforward as that.
“Sterling has come up to play games, of course, but that’s not going to be a guarantee, you have to fight for minutes here, and you’re not going to be able to guarantee it.
“Michael Beale has spoken throughout pre-season about working on different defensive shapes. I think if Rangers do go to a back three, he gives you an interesting option.
“I think he gives Rangers that different profile whether it be that they want to go to a back five and have a centre-back who’s comfortable stepping up into midfield.
“You’d imagine that Sterling has arrived under the pretence that he’ll be given an opportunity beyond rotation but where will that arrive? Tavernier will be phased out at some point in his career but I wouldn’t be confident of that being this season.”
Not an immediate successor
While it does seem obvious that Sterling has made the long move up from London for consistent game time having left the Chelsea loan mothership permanently, it appears obvious that he is either going to have to displace a Rangers great or fill in out of position.
The second is much more likely, Tavernier started all but one of the Gers’ 56 games in all competitions last term so the likelihood that anyone other than a Cafu reincarnated would push him out of the starting XI is very, very low.
What does seem an attractive prospect however, is the idea of having Sterling as a right-sided centre-back behind Tavernier at right-wing-back, allowing each player to demonstrate their best skills and allowing Sterling to just focus on the defensive side of the game.
In addition, Rangers are once again facing a busy schedule, with Champions League qualifiers and an expectation to go deep into domestic competition. With Tavernier another year older, it will be beneficial to have a very able deputy.
In other Rangers news, Beale’s pursuit of Feyenoord striker Danilo has taken yet another twist