With an astounding 21 goals and 10 assists this season, it’s understandable that Philippe Clement, the manager of the Gators, is unconcerned about the source of his team’s goals.
The captain will be 33 early in the upcoming season, and James Tavernier will eventually lose his spot as the starting quarterback for the Rangers. Fortunately, a replacement has already been chosen.
Adam Devine is at a crossroads in his career, he doesn’t quite seem to have the same potential as the likes of Alan Hutton but there is no reason why he couldn’t be a long-term back-up option.
It is almost pointless trying to find a player who could match Tavernier’s style but finding someone who can tick as many boxes as possible is the next best option.
Modern defenders need to be fast, strong, good in the air and with the ball at their feet, ideally, capable of using both.
Full-backs in particular need the sort of engine that will get them up and down the park for 90 minutes too.
In the versatile Dujon Sterling, Alex Neil believes that Rangers already have the natural heir:
“The biggest difficulty for Dujon is trying to get that right-back position at Ibrox from Tavernier given how many goals the captain offers their team.
“If Tavernier is not the right-back, I think Dujon would be a perfect fit in there. There’s no doubt about that. The problem is that with Tav, he’s the captain for a start so he’s an influence in the changing room.
“He’s got all that aspects you’d want. If we had a player in the opposition team who we felt would cause us a problem, Dujon dealt with him. That’s how we felt about him.
“He could just nullify threats because you can’t get away from him. He’s a type of defender that you need to beat two or three times to get passed him. He was excellent.
“One v one against any opponent last year, he came out on the right side of it.”
What has to be remembered about Dujon Sterling, is that he has been hugely impressive for Rangers in recent months and he has been impressive playing out of position.
You will be lucky if the 24-year old has made one or two appearances at right back, instead, spending most of his time at left back, defensive midfield, left wing, right wing and even as a number ten.
Neil makes a great point.
Sterling will never be James Tavernier but, what the former Chelsea academy graduate offers is equally as important.
We’ve also seen recently, before he got injured, is that he can contribute in the final third and cause opposition teams problems.
He has all the basics needed to be a fine footballer – not that he isn’t already – and it won’t be long until James Tavernier will have to worry about his place in the Rangers team.
GET MORE NEWS HERE
Leave a Reply