Tuur Rommens proved he’s Rangers left-back of the future vs Livingston – here’s why
Rangers did some good transfer business in the winter window, but Tuur Rommens may be the best of it.
Joining Rangers from Belgian outfit Westerlo for a reported fee of around £3.5million in January, Rommens was the second of four new arrivals at Ibrox this winter.
Ryan Naderi, Andreas Skov Olsen and Tochi Chukwuani made up the other three new signings, and out of all of them, it’s Rommens who has probably made the most impactful start to life in Glasgow.
Brentford loanee Jayden Meghoma had been performing well for Gers this season, but the 19-year-old has already lost his place to Rommens in the starting XI, and the Belgian won’t be giving it back anytime soon.
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Tuur Rommens showed he can do it all vs Livingston
As detailed in the above graphic from Sofascore, Rommens came into the Livingston clash off the back of a superb performance in the 4-2 win over Hearts.
That was his first Scottish Premiership start for Rangers, and so it was no surprise to see Danny Rohl stick with his new recruit in West Lothian on Sunday afternoon.
Scottish football requires players to tick a whole load of boxes if they wish to become stars in these lands, with so many different challenges asked of players, especially those coming from abroad.
Old-school stadiums where fans are right on top of the pitch, harsh and ever-changing weather conditions, and a game that is played with physicality and grit; if you’re not up to it, you’re quickly found out.
Livingston is one of those places that tests new arrivals to the Scottish game, and it proved to catch out a couple of Gers players too, with Skov Olsen and Chukwuani brought off after 46 and 64 minutes respectively.
However, Rohl and everyone connected with Rangers have quickly discovered that Rommens is up to it and then some, and his Livingston showing further cemented that.
As detailed in the above graphic from Sofascore, Rommens won 10 of his 14 duels against Livi, as well as losing just one of his five aerial duels.
He also showed excellent passing accuracy, successfully completing 40/49 of his attempts, and was 100 per cent successful with his lone dribble attempt too.
Rommens also won a handful of tackles and made numerous important clearances, showing that he’s got a firm handle on pretty much every facet of the game.
Rommens has chance to cap excellent Rangers start off vs Celtic
So, it’s safe to say that Rommens is already firmly on the path to Ibrox stardom, with the 22-year-old looking every bit of Rangers’ future at the left-back spot.
However, nothing in these parts fast-tracks you to cult hero status with the Gers faithful more than a memorable performance in an Old Firm derby.
That is exactly what Rommens will be hoping to do on Sunday, as Celtic head to Ibrox for the first of back-to-back Old Firms, with the two going again in the Scottish Cup on 8 March.
Therefore, Rommens now has a major opportunity to cash-in on his impressive start to life in Glasgow with a couple of blockbuster performances against Gers’ bitter inter-city rivals.
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