Glasgow Rangers face a summer of change under Philippe Clement, with the Belgian looking to build a squad full of his own transfer targets at Ibrox.
The Belgian inherited a side from Michael Beale which features a host of players who clearly are not up to the required standard to be long-term solutions for the Light Blues.
Credit to the former Club Brugge manager, as he has managed to somehow drag the club into a Premiership title race, while winning the League Cup and reaching the final of the Scottish Cup, proving how good a boss he has turned out to be.
This summer is the perfect opportunity for the 50-year-old to ship out some deadwood while signing a few targets who can instantly improve the starting XI.
Could the Light Blues perhaps turn to a player who has shone against the Old Firm recently as one of their future transfers? A current Scottish football pundit certainly thinks so.
Rangers tipped to move for defender
It is no secret that the left-back area is a primary concern for Clement. Not only is Borna Barisic out of contract at the end of the season and looks set to depart Glasgow, but Ridvan Yilmaz is injury-prone and simply cannot be trusted to remain fit throughout an entire season.
This will certainly see the club dive into the market for at least one left-sided defender this summer, potentially two, depending on the budget available to Clement.
Pundit Tam McManus, a former striker for Hibs and Dundee among others, has been hyping up a left-back who has shone for Dundee in recent weeks since joining from Burnley on loan – Owen Dodgson.
“I like the left-back, Dodgson,” McManus said when appearing on PLZ Soccer regarding the defender. “He’s been excellent. I think Celtic and Rangers should be looking at him.
“The two games I’ve seen him, against both Celtic and Rangers, I thought he was really really good.”
Could he perhaps be a viable option for Rangers? Even if it were to just add some much-needed depth to the squad over the summer.
Owen Dodgson’s statistics for Dundee
The youngster moved north to secure a six-month loan spell at the Dens Park side, featuring in 13 matches so far for the club.
Across his 12 Premiership appearances, the 21-year-old has shown plenty of promise. Not only does he show plenty of willingness to get on the ball, evidenced by averaging 43.7 touches per game, but he has also won 3.3 total duels per game – a success rate of 55% – along with creating two big chances, impressing across a range of performance metrics.
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Owen Dodgson’s stats for Dundee since joining on loan |
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|---|---|
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Accurate passes per game |
18.5 |
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Key passes per game |
0.8 |
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Successful dribbles per game |
0.2 |
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Total duels won per game |
3.3 |
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Possession lost per game |
14.3 |
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Via Sofascore |
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It was his displays against both Rangers and Celtic in recent weeks which have seen people sit up and take notice, showcasing his talents while playing the two best teams in the country.
During the clash against the Light Blues, Dodgson won six of his seven contested duels, made four interceptions and wasn’t dribbled past once. A few weeks later, when Celtic came to town, the Englishman delivered a wonderful display which featured five key passes, winning three of his five duels, and creating two big chances during their eventual 2-1 defeat.
This shows the player was clearly not fazed in the slightest by taking on some of the finest attackers in the top flight, which could come in handy should the Gers take a closer look at him.
There is no reason why he couldn’t come in and replace Barisic, especially considering how poor the Croatian has been so far this season as he winds down his six-year association with the club.
Borna Barisic’s stats for Rangers this season
The left-back has been a stalwart at Ibrox since first walking through the doors in the summer of 2018, becoming one of Steven Gerrard’s first signings in the process.
Nearly six years later, he has amassed 234 appearances for the Light Blues, winning every domestic prize on offer along with helping the club reach the 2022 Europa League final.
Since then, however, his performance levels have dipped, and it is clear the club needs to release him once the season has finished in order to add some freshness to the department.
At the time of writing, the 31-year-old has played 33 times for the Gers this term, with the majority of them coming during the first half of the season.
Indeed, Barisic has made just five Premiership starts since the turn of the year, as Yilmaz emerged as Clement’s first choice.
The only reason he was still getting some game time is due to Yilmaz’s injury which he suffered on international duty, otherwise he would have spent the vast majority of the time on the bench.
Among his teammates this season, the Croatian ranks 11th in the squad for goals and assists (three) in the Premiership, while ranking in a lowly 17th spot for big chances created (one), ninth for accurate passes per game (28.6) and 19th for successful dribbles per match (0.3), indicating that even when he does play, his statistics are often poor.
The defender is currently earning £21k-per-week and getting this sort of wage off the books during the summer will give Clement much more flexibility in the transfer window, no doubt about that.
Dodgson will return to Burnley, his parent club, once his loan spell at Dundee comes to an end, but he has impressed significantly across the previous five months.
With a contract at the Turf Moor side until 2025, which suggests he could be available for a knockdown price, that is, if Burnley are open to selling him.
While nothing is concrete, he could certainly be a wonderful option to have at Clement’s disposal next season. Dodgson is still coming into his peak and could even make the Gers a profit in the future, such is his vast potential.
The summer could be an exciting time indeed for the Ibrox faithful.
