Danny Rohl must reconsider Rangers change after Nasser Djiga’s latest woes vs Aberdeen

Danny Rohl must consider taking Nasser Djiga out of the team after the defender performed poorly in Rangers‘ comprehensive 4-1 win over Aberdeen at Ibrox on Saturday.

Djiga joined Rangers on loan from Wolves until the end of the season, and he initially struggled with life at Ibrox under Russell Martin.

The Burkina Faso international made several mistakes for the Bears in the first half of the campaign, and he was eventually dropped when his position in the team became untenable.

However, Djiga has stepped up when called upon by Rohl, and given the fact that John Souttar isn’t in the best of form, the 23-year-old has started the last three matches in all competitions.

Although Rangers beat Aberdeen with ease, Djiga’s underwhelming display wouldn’t have impressed Rohl.

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Nasser Djiga unconvincing in Rangers win vs Aberdeen

Although Djiga has managed to cut out any lapses of concentration in his game, he still looks nervous at the back.

Despite coming in for Souttar in what was a much-needed change by Rohl, his latest performance against Aberdeen might force the German head coach to rethink his decision.

According to Sofascore, Djiga won zero per cent of his aerial duels and only 56 per cent of his ground duels, as he was dominated by Aberdeen’s Kevin Nisbet.

StatDjiga
Appearances18
Ground duels won65.2%
Aerial duels won61.2%
Pass accuracy93%
Djiga’s Scottish Premiership stats this season (via Sofascore)

Djiga may have registered a pass accuracy of 94 per cent, but he failed to complete one of his two attempted long balls.

With only two tackles, Djiga was fairly unchallenged in the match, but it’s clear that centre-back partner Emmanuel Fernandez looked more assured in every aspect.

Nasser Djiga's stats vs Aberdeen.
Credit: Sofascore

As the Sofascore graphic above shows, Djiga wasn’t at his best, and although Rangers were comfortable against Aberdeen, Rohl should think about going back to using Souttar in defence.

Should Danny Rohl start John Souttar for the remainder of the season?

Rangers fans had been crying out for Souttar to be dropped for Djiga, and their calls had finally been answered.

The Scotland international has only made 10 interceptions in the league this campaign, which is an incredibly disappointing return.

However, despite some of his poor performances, he has proven to be a real leader at the back.

John Souttar dribbled past in SPFL stat this season.
Credit: Imago

With only seven games left of the season, Rangers are firmly in the title race, and they’ll need to show a lot of character in each match they play.

Souttar’s introduction to the side could ease a lot of nerves among this inexperienced group of players, which Rohl will definitely consider.

Unfortunately, Rangers don’t have two centre-backs that they can fully trust, but the Scotland international’s track record could prove to be more valuable than Djiga’s raw ability.

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