Dujon Sterling may have escaped brutal January axe at Rangers after what Philippe Clement said after Dundee United win
Forgotten Rangers summer signing Dujon Sterling may well have escaped a brutal January sale already after Philippe Clement’s comments after the Dundee United win.
The former Chelsea youngster arrived on a free transfer in the summer after flourishing on loan at Stoke City last season but has seen his role at Ibrox limited due to injuries.
The 23-year-old has only made a handful of appearances in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, with his only start coming against Celtic in the first Old Firm Derby of the campaign, where he was deployed by Michael Beale on the left of defence.
A tactical decision which certainly failed miserably.
Sterling was substituted not long after the hour mark in that game as he was one of many Rangers players who struggled against Brendan Rodgers’ side, winning only 44 per cent of his nine ground duels and failing to complete a single one of his three attempted dribbles [Fotmob].
However, under new boss Clement, he’s made three cameo appearances and was rather impressive when he came on in the 1-0 win over Hearts, winning 100% of his ground duels, completing 100% of his dribbles, 75% of his passes and registering two clearances [SofaScore].
His latest appearance came against Dundee United on Saturday (9 December) when he played an unfamiliar role in midfield after Jose Cifuentes’ controversial red card – a game in which he could have scored after seeing a shot cannon back off the post.
With Clement set to undergo a revamp of the squad in January, many will have expected Sterling to be one of the first players out already, just a few months after joining the club.
However, the Belgian hinted at further game time for the former Chelsea full-back after the Dundee win.
Speaking to Rangers TV: “He played a really good game in a position he never plays.
“But I see what I see in training, he is working hard.
“He wants to get minutes in whatever position and he was important against Hearts as left full-back, then in midfield (against Dundee), he can play right full-back and he can also play as a winger.
“So if he keeps pushing like that then he will get more minutes in the next couple of weeks, that’s clear because he deserves it.”
Indeed, Sterling was intentioned by Beale to be the long-term replacement for James Tavernier but the Ibrox fan-favourite is certainly showing no signs of slowing down any time soon, and very rarely gets injured.
The Belgian has grown understandably frustrated over the injury issues, with Tom Lawrence, Danilo and Nicolas Raskin now out of action which doesn’t spell great news for Sterling who has spent more minutes on the Rangers treatment table than he has on the football pitch.
Clement could well have plans to strengthen and improve the squad as a result which could have left Sterling’s future at the club uncertain already.
Just when Sterling will feature in his preferred position at Ibrox for the first time remains to be seen.
However, it seems as though Clement is certainly prepared to hand him opportunities after his impressive cameos suggesting Sterling may have narrowly escaped a brutal January axe.
In other Rangers news, an opposition player appeared to take a swipe at the Gers after something that happened at the weekend.