James Tavernier is putting Scottish Premiership rivals to shame for Rangers – here’s why
James Tavernier is refusing to ride off into the Rangers sunset this season.
The 34-year-old is out of contract at Ibrox this summer, having first joined Rangers all the way back in the summer of 2015.
Over 550 appearances and 140 goals since then, Tavernier has well and truly cemented himself as one of the Gers greats, and will be sorely missed whenever the time comes for him to leave.
However, he was unable to make an impact off the bench in Rangers’ Scottish Cup defeat to Celtic on Sunday, but he certainly has continued to do so for his team this season.
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Where James Tavernier leads Scottish Premiership this season
Danny Rohl has been criticised for dropping Tavernier in that cup clash, in which he favoured Dujon Sterling at right-back.
And so, with Gers resuming their Scottish Premiership title challenge on Sunday away at St Mirren, it will be fascinating to see if Rohl brings Tavernier back into the starting XI for that one.
Tavernier has been excellent once again this term, and is still showing no signs of his age catching up with him anytime soon, but there are two departments in particular that he’s bossing the league in.
As per Sofascore, Tavernier leads the Scottish top flight for the most big chances created, with his 16 being most closely rivalled by St Mirren’s left-sided star Declan John (14).
However, that’s not the only attacking metric that Tavernier is at the top of the mountain for either, with his 2.1 key passes per match also being the best in the division this season.
Hearts midfielder Alexandros Kyziridis is second in that category with 1.9, with these numbers made even more impressive considering that Tavernier has started only 20 of his 27 league games this term.
Tavernier and John set for mouth-watering matchup on Sunday
As aforementioned, St Mirren’s left-back/left wing-back John is Tavernier’s closest competitor for big chances created in the Scottish Premiership this season.
Therefore, if those two start for their respective teams on Sunday, that’s going to present a fascinating individual battle down that flank between two of the league’s best creators.
Tavernier has seven goals and four assists in 27 league games this season, whilst John – a former Rangers player – has one goal and five assists from 26 appearances respectively.
So, whoever wins this battle looks sure to hold the key to three points for their respective side, as Rangers look to avoid slipping on a banana skin, and get back to winning ways after no victories from their last three games in all competitions.
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