Max Aarons is being underused at Rangers as stats reveal true quality
Max Aarons has been a bit-part player at best for Rangers under Danny Rohl.
As all managers do at this stage of the season, Rohl certainly has his favourites at Ibrox, and it would seem that Aarons is not one of them.
The Bournemouth loanee has started just two of the last 10 games for the Light Blues, with both of those starts having come in the Europa League.
In fact, of the 17 league games that Aarons has featured in, he has been named in the starting 11 just eight times, showcasing just where he is in the pecking order.
However, if Rangers are to win the Scottish Premiership title, Rohl may need to reverse his decision and hand him far more gametime.
⚽Rangers match day ⚽
Team news, line-ups, expert previews and tactical analysis for every Rangers fixture.
Jayden Meghoma’s starting role could be under threat
Jayden Meghoma has been Rangers’ go-to option at left-back this season until the arrival of Tuur Rommens, and there is certainly a case to be made that he has yet to earn the amount of gametime he has actually had.
The Brentford loanee has played nearly three times the number of minutes that Aarons has had, and yet the latter has actually shown why Rohl may have it the wrong way round.
| Scottish Premeiship | Aarons |
| Minutes | 732 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Pass accuracy | 86.3% |
| Dribble success rate | 66.7% |
| Duels won | 49 |
With a 69 per cent duel win rate, Aarons ranks among the top 7.7 per cent of full-backs in the league, with Meghoma ranking among the bottom 11.5 per cent for the same metric.
Rohl places a lot of responsibility on his full-backs to contribute in transition, which is again an area in which Aarons outperforms Meghoma.
He averages 1.23 successful dribbles per 90, compared to Meghoma’s 0.32.
In fact, Aarons actually outperforms Meghoma in nearly every attacking and defensive metric, making his omission week in week out quite strange.
Does Aarons have a future at Rangers?
Aarons joined Rangers on a straight loan from Bournemouth last summer, meaning they have no option to make the deal permanent even if they wanted to.
That doesn’t necessarily rule out a return, but it would make it significantly more difficult.
However, with Rohl having handed very few minutes to the Englishman as of late, it seems highly unlikely that the German would want to keep Aarons at Ibrox, with a new left-back likely to be on the agenda this summer.
Don’t Miss a Beat: Your Rangers Insider Access
Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Govan.