This article was written for Scottishfootball.info by Josh Duncan, an aspiring sports writer, who has his own Substack account.
Please follow him there and on X.com.

Josh’s latest article will be the first in his series of deep-dives into Premiership transfers this summer. This won’t be a focus on Rangers, as Josh does this on his own page, and instead will cover signings and rumours across all Premiership clubs.
This edition features Hearts, Dundee United, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen.

With World Cup fever gripping the country, it might be easy to forget that the transfer window opens today. Some teams will be starting fresh and building for the future, while others will be reinforcing an already established core.

Teams have already begun making their moves throughout the Scottish Premiership, deals done ready to be sealed when the window opens. Some clubs have already announced their first incomings of the summer, getting business done early to avoid the World Cup whirlwind.

Scottish clubs, especially outside the Old Firm, are often underrepresented when it comes to detailed analysis of new signings. So for ScottishFootball.info this summer, I am going to try and give insights on some of the most interesting signings and rumours throughout the Scottish Premiership.

I will pick a few each week to watch and share my views on their playstyles and quality. My biggest focus will be to give coverage to all of the teams in the league, except for Rangers as I cover all the Rangers signings on my own substack.

So with the main ideas of this series outlined, let’s get underway. I have four early signings/rumours that I’d like to cover this time.

Amadou Ba-Sy

In typical Jamestown fashion, Hearts have headed to the French 3rd division (Championnat National) and signed FC Rouen forward Amadou Ba-Sy. The 25 year old stands at 6’4 and registered 6 goals and 4 assists in the league last season.

Ba-Sy is a huge physical presence, his size and strength stand out massively in his league. He faces almost no defenders that can match him up man for man. You add to this that his long strides give him great pace, then you have a difficult day for any defence.

He understands how to use his body to gain advantages and get himself chances. His strength allows him to hold off most defenders using just one arm, allowing him to roll away into the channel. This gives his opponent the choice of fouling or letting him run straight towards goal.

Ba-Sy gets these chances often but is inconsistent in taking them, his touches often put him in awkward shooting positions. This means that he either needs another touch or has to shoot off balance, both choices usually mean squandering the chance.

His best technical attributes actually show up when he drifts out wide. Despite his unorthodox movements, something you see a lot with very tall players, he actually dribbles past opponents often. His dribbling is deceptive and defenders find him hard to read.

This is really sound technique, gets the ball onto his right to size up the defender. The sort of micro touch into the step-over allows him to push off of his right leg to immediately go left. He gets a bit of a lucky bounce but the decision to go straight back against the second defender’s momentum is also a good one.

Ba-Sy’s link and hold up play is quite a mixed bag overall. If you can play the ball into his feet, his technique is sound. He will control it quickly and move the ball on at the first opportunity.

When he has to deal with the ball in the air though, he struggles. Aerial duels often see Ba-Sy mistime his jumps, missing the ball entirely due to a poor read.

His technique when controlling in tight spaces is poor as well, he will take multiple touches to bring the ball under control. If he tries to turn then the touch is often heavy, losing possession for his team:

What it looks like Hearts are getting is the typical modern striker that data loves. A player that gets lots of chances but doesn’t score many. His physical quality will translate to Scotland pretty easily, which is how he gets his chances for the most part. Hearts will bank on him being able to take enough of those chances to offset the issues within his game.

I actually think, due to his attributes, Hearts may get more from him out on the wing than as a proper striker.

Hugo Ahl

Dundee United have been linked with a couple of wingers early on that have piqued my interest. Hungarian winger Bence Babos and Swedish winger Hugo Ahl have both been linked with moves to the Tannadice side.

Ahl is 24 years old and stands at around 6’2, he mostly plays on the right wing for Zemplín Michalovce in the Slovakian top flight. He managed 10 goals and 4 assists in just over 2000 league minutes last season.

Ahl is a very front footed winger, wanting to attack the spaces around the back post or cut inside onto his weaker left to get shots off. He reacts very well to loose balls in the box and is comfortable shooting on either side.

When Ahl receives the ball here, he brings it under his spell quickly. He then brings the ball into close control, this forces the full back to be concerned about Ahl taking him on. Ahl is aware of the defensive help on its way and turns in quickly against the second defenders’ momentum. This creates the separation he needs for the shot.

He usually prefers to curl these shots with his left foot, when he tries to hit with the laces it takes him more time to prepare the shot. This time he has plenty of space but there are times where he squanders opportunities by failing to shoot quickly enough.

This second clip shows a couple of things, first, the ability to attack the back post and react in the box that I mentioned. As the ball progresses towards the box, notice how Ahl hangs back, in line with the ball carrier. He waits for the play to develop and his marker loses him completely when trying to cover someone else. He gets to the ball first and the left foot finish is assured.

The second thing it shows is one of my issues with Ahl’s game. Ahl is fast for his size, covering ground well with his long strides. He can get up to speed decently well, it’s the slowing down that’s the problem.

Notice as the ball comes in how Ahl has to stop and react to the ball behind him, it takes him a few steps to stop and even longer to change his momentum the other way. Luckily he has plenty of time in this instance but in tighter attacking situations, this could be the difference between a goal or a blocked shot.

Ahl is more of a scorer than a creator but he does have parts of his game that aid creativity. Despite how often he gets on his left, Ahl is more right footed and he uses this to drive down the outside and find teammates in the box.

He uses his movement before the pass to create separation, rather than carrying the ball. Ahl isn’t an incredible ball carrier over distance, so he uses intelligent movement and his strong first touch to create advantages.

With just a year left on his deal, I think there’s an opportunity for Dundee United to get a great deal here. Players who can stretch defences, move intelligently and score in multiple ways aren’t easy to come by for smaller teams. I hope that they continue this kind of talent identification throughout the window.

Ieuan Owen

Kilmarnock announced the signing of Barry Town United striker, Ieuan Owen. The 5’7 Welshman bagged 11 goals and an assist this season in the Cymru Premier.

When you see a smaller player achieve success, especially at just 20 years old, they usually have something about them that offsets the disadvantage. That’s what made me interested in watching Owen.

The main thing that stands out when watching Owen is his industry. He runs non stop to put pressure on opposing defences and creates chances this way often. Owen is aware of what he covers when pressing and that makes him more effective.

Owen is good at causing chaos but a lot of his best work comes from receiving around the edge of the box and getting quick shots away. His technique on the right foot gets consistent power, allowing him to pull off some great finishes.

His creativity is generally lacking for me, he doesn’t get involved much through the middle and gets physically outmatched by most opponents. He does show a bit more creative ability drifting out wide and taking on players 1v1.

In general play Owen struggles a lot to get involved, he floats about all over the pitch but doesn’t really have the ability to take the ball without a lot of space. If a pass is played to him under pressure, he is very easily bullied by opponents.

Kilmarnock are going to have to get players around him that can find him with passes in space. His out of possession work will be big for them and will probably get him some goals. I think this is a smart signing from Kilmarnock overall but there are big concerns about whether Owen will handle the physical intensity of Scottish football.

Alexander Briedl

Alexander Briedl is one of a few signings already announced by Aberdeen before the beginning of the window, as they look to return to the top half of the table.

The defensive midfielder moves on a free transfer after his contract ended at Austrian side BW Linz. I had already watched Briedl earlier in the year and some of his play caught my eye, which is why I chose him over the other Aberdeen incomings.

On the ball, I like Briedl’s mentality of moving the ball quickly while also looking for progressive options. He isn’t going to take progressive risks under pressure but during settled progression he looks to carve through the midfield.

There are a few little decisions in this clip that make a big difference. First Briedl waits on the defender to engage him before releasing the first pass, giving his winger more time.

Then he receives the ball in space and looks forward, strong pass on his weak foot into the half space and moves to receive again straight away. This opens up his ability to find a teammate on the weaker side of the play, who has the space for a shot.

Another part of Briedl’s game I like is his ability to recover at pace and then settle things back down. He has strong recovery pace and the willingness to get back.

Briedl is actually the one who takes the corner before this counter. He comes flying back to stop that counter, putting in a great challenge before his teammate mops up. He gets back up into the disorganised defensive shape and moves the ball through the pressure so his team can settle.

In terms of weaknesses, Briedl is not a real factor in the final third. His game is more about feeding the more attacking players than getting involved in the attack itself. Just 1 goal and 1 assist last season for Briedl encapsulates that pretty well. His one goal is a nice strike though:

Defensively I find that he is drawn to the ball a lot in situations that it’s not necessary, leaving gaps behind him. Despite his speed, Briedl is not particularly agile and if he’s taken out of the play his change of direction to recover isn’t great.

In the clip above, Briedl has a player in between himself and a teammate. Briedl wants to engage the player in possession but is too far away. He steps up anyway, right as the pass is played to the player next to him. This allows his opponent to receive against Briedl’s momentum and the player who passed the ball originally can run off Briedl’s blindside and into the box.

What Aberdeen have found for themselves is a solid all round midfielder who can handle the physicality in Scotland. Add to that his work ethic and ball progression skills, the Dons might have the foundational piece for their midfield. What’s most important now is to get the recruitment right for the players in front of him.

So in this first one, I’ve highlighted four players in the early summer that I think will have an impact on their teams next season. Hopefully these early profiles give supporters a better idea of what their new, or potential new, signings could bring.

Some weeks there will probably be more players looked at, but I wanted to start slowly with the transfer window not officially under way.

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This article was written for Scottishfootball.info by Josh Duncan, an aspiring sports writer, who has his own Substack account. Please follow him there and on X.com.

Josh’s latest article will be the fourth in a series of ‘squad building’ exercises, looking specifically at Rangers, having already covered their centre backs, full backs and goalkeepers.

Josh will be writing regularly for the website covering signings/rumours at all Scottish clubs, keeping his Rangers specific analysis on his own page. Please leave comments for any players you would like to see featured.

We are closing in on the beginning of the summer window now and as I’ve outlined in this series, Rangers have a lot to do. They have started out with the acquisition of Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland.

Ball Hawk

Lawrence Shankland

Lawrence Shankland is finally a Rangers player. The club announced his signing last week after years of being linked to the club. He is the first signing in what must be a busy window for the club, coming in for free due to a contract clause…

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14 days ago · 11 likes · 2 comments · Josh Duncan

Andrew Cavenagh and his team will be aware that the squad needs some serious turnover once again and look to be prepared to do some early business.

No area is in more need of quality improvement than the Rangers midfield in my opinion. This season showing the latest in a series of Rangers teams unable to consistently control games or create chances.

When I began the research for this one, around a month ago now, I didn’t expect to struggle so much to find specific players to show in the article. I learned throughout the process that most midfielders that are good enough for Rangers are already out of the clubs reach.

This article ended up as an explanation of ways Rangers can mitigate this issue as much as one about scouting/profiling their midfield.

The Midfield

Tochi Chukwuani has struggled to start his Rangers career but given the outlay and the lack of time I wouldn’t expect to see him going anywhere this summer.

That leaves Nicolas Raskin, Mohammed Diomande and Connor Barron of the midfield starters. I think Rangers will be selling at least two of this group. The most likely for me would be Raskin and Diomande given that they will have the most suitors and Barron fills a home grown spot.

Although if Rangers can replace Connor Barron with more quality depth, it would improve the squad on a base level.

Rangers have reportedly opened talks over a new contract with Bailey Rice, I’d like to see him stay and be given an opportunity. I believe there is still potential there for him to become an important part of the squad. If he were to leave this summer, this spot could go to another youth option or a loan for depth.

Danny Rohl has switched between a midfield 2 and 3 a lot so far in his time so I will be looking to find players who can accommodate both setups. This means we are going to look for one backup and two starters.

We’re going to look for a starting number 6 and then a more creative/goal scoring midfielder for the starting positions. This is because more than anything, the Rangers midfield has lacked creativity in recent years.

That ability to consistently create is as important for controlling and dominating games as winning battles off the ball. It is a lot easier to keep opponents penned back if you can consistently break them down and create.

The Backup

Rangers have already been linked to a player I would deem a decent backup in Elliot Watt. However, I have already written a more detailed report on Elliot Watt and you can read the full thing here.

Ball Hawk

Elliot Watt

It was another predictable season end for Rangers in this campaign, watching the team fail to show its quality when it really matters. We now get a small respite from Rangers as we all get prepared to see Scotland in a World Cup for the first time this century…

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23 days ago · 14 likes · 5 comments · Josh Duncan

What I believe Rangers really need from a backup midfielder is a creative/goal scoring threat. The club has suffered from a lack of attacking contribution from the midfield for years now and that’s something I’d like to address throughout the midfield in this article.

The profile for this player was as simple as they get. I wanted to add a bit more physical presence to the midfield so I looked for players in the 8/10 positions that were over 180cm.

I wanted the potential for this player to develop into something more than just the backup as well so I looked at options aged 25 and under.

Then I added in players that had at least 10 goal contributions in the last season. To look more specifically, I looked for players above average in shots p90 and shot assists p90, to find someone that was consistently finding shooting opportunities for themselves and team mates. This led me to a few players to watch more in depth.

Svit Seslar

Svit Seslar is a 24 year old Slovenian midfielder playing for NK Celje. Seslar has had an unusual couple of seasons after being signed by Turkish side Eyupspor in 23/24.

He has spent time on loan at current club NK Celje before returning to his Turkish parent side for the first half of this season. He was then permanently signed to Celje in January.

Despite this turmoil, Seslar has kept contributing. With 24 goals and 27 assists in the last two seasons. This is the sort of attacking option we want to bring to the squad.

Seslar has a fantastic left foot, able to generate great power on shots from all angles and techniques. He is incredibly willing to get shots off from range and can be relied upon in the box as well.

He definitely has some struggles in his overall game, that’s why he’s the backup. His speed is an issue and his ability to control the ball on his weaker right foot sometimes lacks. However, when Seslar gets around the box these issues seem to go out the window.

When Seslar gets into positions in which he can combine around the box, his best play comes out. He moves the ball really quickly, playing on instinct to create chances. Moving the ball at speed is one of the best ways to break down stubborn defences.

Seslar also provides an option at set pieces. His left footed delivery is great for in swinging corners and free kicks. He gets great shape on his free kick deliveries especially, creating serious indecision from defenders and goalkeepers.

Seslar isn’t a perfect player but he provides something that Rangers don’t currently have in terms of squad options. He can play multiple positions and be an attacking threat late in games when Rangers are looking for winners or insurance goals.

Number 6 Profile

For a team like Rangers, my opinion is that the number 6 and the wingers are the most important positions. The number 6 has to be able to handle defensive work, control the build up and pick out those final passes or shots when teams are defending deep.

Finding players capable of all this is difficult, as the club have continually showed. I think what the club need to learn is that this position requires extra resources to recruit properly. The club will have to be prepared to spend more and compete for better talent in this area of the pitch.

The profile I went for started with number 6’s that have over 1500 minutes played this season. The height wasn’t as much of a concern as other positions so I didn’t set a parameter here.

For passing, I set out pretty high standards. I wanted a player who was 80th percentile or above for progressive passes and key passes in their leagues. I wanted to find a player who could not only get the ball moving but also be a creative influence as well.

I then wanted to make sure that the player could also carry the ball out as well as pass it. I looked for players that were above average for dribbles per 90 and progressive runs per 90. These are runs which carry the ball closer to the opponents goal by a certain distance, the distance required to count as a progressive run extends the further the player is from goal.

Finally I wanted someone who won over 60% of their defensive duels and was above average in interceptions per 90. The goal here is to find an intelligent defender, who positions well and makes strong decisions.

This gave me the names to watch in depth and come up with a target.

Yassine Titraoui

Yassine Titraoui is a 22 year old Algerian midfielder playing for Charleroi in the Belgian Pro League. Titraoui is the first player that I have suggested that Rangers would not be the top dogs when trying to sign them. Titraoui has tentative links to Premier League teams although reportedly no bids have been made.

I don’t think Titraoui is ready to start at that level yet so Rangers would be able to offer him a starting role in a European side to tempt him over other options. The likely cost of around £7 million, is now comfortably within the realm of possibility. It is the ability to tempt him to the club that will be more difficult.

The main reason I chose him though, was to illustrate the level of player I think the club needs to start at number 6.

One of the things I really enjoy about Titraoui is his pace of play. Far too often you see Rangers midfielders hold on to the ball instead of keeping things moving, making it very easy for opponents to stay organised.

Titraoui like to move the ball quickly, passing and then moving to receive again constantly. If he wins a loose ball he looks for an option straight away, which helps his team out of pressure.

The only time he slows down in the build up phase is when he sees the space to find a more progressive pass. He can hit these incisive out to in passes really well on either foot, breaking through the lines.

Titraoui’s dribbling is another top attribute. He accelerates really well and doesn’t lose speed with the ball at his feet. He will carry into space whenever he sees the opportunity and will bypass opponents while carrying at speed.

He is great at creating opportunities this way, driving forward and getting shots off himself or setting up a teammate. He does sometimes get caught trying to draw fouls, turning the ball over.

His best attribute is his creativity, he gets involved in the attack in multiple ways. Titraoui loves to move around the edges of the box and find crosses or cutbacks to create opportunities.

He will also look for quick combinations around the box in order to create opportunities. His acceleration really helps here, he’s hard to track in tight spaces and gets himself into good positions consistently.

Titraoui is also very skilled at shooting from range, an attribute that would be very useful playing against the types of defences Rangers face. He consistently arrives at the edge of the box getting quick shots away with great accuracy and power. Below are some clips of his goals this season.

Titraoui’s propensity for shooting comes with a drawback though. He will often fire off shots from range when it opens up regardless of the other options around him. This leads to wasted opportunities to setup teammates.

Off the ball, Titraoui has great awareness, he stays well positioned and understands the play developing around him. These defensive qualities make him great at covering a back four in settled defensive situations.

He rarely fails to track a runner, understanding what danger each player around him poses. His quick acceleration allows him to cover lots of possibilities.

In the clip above you can see Titraoui drop into the box to help his centre back with a runner. Once that danger is covered, the centre back steps out and Titraoui recognises the space left behind. This means that he’s in position to stop the cross at the front post.

Titraoui’s biggest deficiency is his physicality, as you would expect given his size. He’s still decently strong but bigger players do give him trouble on the defensive end.

He tries to make up for this with aggressiveness, which works okay generally but sometimes sees Titraoui caught out and bypassed very easily.

Given the all around quality that Titraoui possesses, it is no wonder why top teams would be interested in his services. I hope that this outlines the level of quality that Rangers should be striving for in their number 6.

It will be difficult to compete for these players but Rangers are in a position to do it. Players that are only good at some parts of the role, especially ones who aren’t great on the ball, will continue to fail at the club.

Nathan Saliba and Mory Gbane were two players I also liked the look of who are a bit more realistic, although not at the same level of quality of course. This is the trade off if you aren’t trying to compete in higher markets.

8/10 Profile

To round out the midfield group and facilitate the options for a 3 man midfield, I looked for an '“advanced 8” or number 10 type of player. Someone who can move between the lines and get involved in the attack.

This position is particularly difficult to play for Rangers given the way they are defended domestically. Space is at a premium and it takes a very good player to find it.

Players who show this level of ability are usually snapped up by top teams quickly. So for Rangers it is just as important to begin identifying these talents early as it is to be competing in bigger markets.

Our profile here is all about creativity. The usual filtering of players under 25 with at least 1000 minutes played last season will apply. To give us a player with time to develop in the Rangers midfield.

Then to find someone consistently moving the ball into dangerous positions, I looked for someone above average in their leagues and position for passes into the final third p90 and passes into the box p90.

Then I added in touches in the box p90 as well, to find a player that was getting into the box themselves as well as finding teammates there. Finally, I added a requirement of at least 5 goal contributions. The last bit is a bit less scientific but it is good to see some tangible output.

This was the position that has taken me the most time. I think I’ve watched around 30 players for at least 90 minutes while looking for a target to showcase. In the end I went for attacking potential over anything else, leading me to another quite ambitious target.

Valdemar Byskov

Valdemar Byskov is a 21 year old Danish midfielder playing for Midtjylland. Byskov has enjoyed a bit of a breakout season in the Superliga, with 7 goals and 3 assists in just over 1000 league minutes.

His smaller build affords him strong agility and acceleration, he glides with the ball at his feet and is difficult to dispossess. This is clear when driving towards the box and his technical qualities on both feet allow him to finish from all angles.

I did feel while watching him play that he lacked composure in moments where he was running onto shots in and around the box. Chances would fall to him and he would rush the shot too much, leading to a couple wild attempts:

Despite the brilliant goal numbers, I actually feel that Byskov’s strongest quality is his ability to create for his teammates. It seems like the game moves slower for him than everyone else and he can pick out passes extremely quickly.

Byskov also shows lovely technique on these short crosses around the corner of the box. Able to pick out specific teammates or dangerous areas consistently.

Outside of the attack, Byskov can also drop deeper to help escape pressure in the build up phase. His great first touch and close control can help him get out of tight situations and play forward.

Off the ball is where you find the major weakness, a mix of his smaller build and lack of experience means defensively he struggles in duels. He can be brushed off quite easily by bigger players.

When fighting for loose balls you see some of his lack of experience and physical technique. He falls into the trap a lot of young players face, they try to hold off opponents using their purely core muscle instead of their arms. This means that they don’t slow the momentum of their opponents and are knocked away easily. This issue was particularly noticeable in Europa League matches.

I did notice that Byskov was starting to show a bit more skill in physical duels towards the end of the season in the Superliga at least. Hopefully he can continue that growth.

I think you would be looking somewhere in the mid 7 figures for Byskov as well. There have been pretty much no serious links in the media for this player so it is difficult to know where Midtjylland really value him.

It could be higher given his age and contract length, he is tied down until 2030. If that is the case Rangers would likely be priced out and have to move on.

I think there could be an opportunity here though for the club to get in before he’s fully established himself as a first team player and get a really high potential, although quite raw, young talent for their midfield. Once again though, these targets are more specifically chosen to describe the sort of qualities Rangers would need from the position.

Lovro Zvonarek and Luka Stojkovic were the two closest to making the article if this one weren’t possible. Although both would also be expensive and they have their own issues.

I actually think this might be a position Rangers could cover by loaning a top talent from one of the top 5 leagues and look more long term in future windows as well.

That leaves us with the midfield set and just the attack to sort out. Hopefully even with my perhaps overly ambitious targets, this article outlines the level of quality I think is required in the midfield going forward.

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This article was written for Scottishfootball.info by Josh Duncan, an aspiring sports writer, who has his own Substack account.

Please follow him there and on X.com - where you can find more of his work.

His previous writing for the website includes a well-received tactical analysis of Falkirk F.C this season. Josh’s latest article will be the third in a series of ‘squad building’ exercises, looking specifically at Rangers.

Rangers 2025/26 campaign was ended in familiar fashion against Hearts on Monday. With a second half collapse making them the first runner to drop out of the title race.

The second half performance at Tynecastle outlined the lack of quality throughout this team and reminded everyone just how much work there is to be done this summer. At least we can look forward to the next group of players that will disappoint us.

Which is exactly what this article will do! In the third part of this series looking at Rangers summer rebuild, we take a look at the centre back position.

Josh’s previous articles in the series can be found here:
Full Backs and Goalkeepers

Centre-back is another position that has felt turbulent in recent years, John Souttar has been the main constant presence. Before that Connor Goldson was the main man for 6 years.

I want to look today at how Rangers should build out the centre back group, what is required in a centre back partnership and then some specific targets for the club.

Centre Back

The is the situation at centre back heading into the summer. Firstly, Manny Fernandez has cemented himself as a starter this season. With some links to top clubs I would be cashing in on him, but most reports believe Rangers would like to keep him if possible.

John Souttar signed an extension during the season but saw a serious decline in performance. I don’t think the extension was a great idea, but he can serve as a fine backup.

Nasser Djiga and Derek Cornelius will return to their parent clubs, I doubt Rangers will try and sign either permanently. Rangers’ own player Clinton Nsiala will be retuning, I expect he will be moved on. Belgian top flight side Westerlo signed him on loan in February, with an option to buy included in the deal.

This means that there is one backup and one starting spot available, giving us a 4 centre back group. This gives solid depth while allowing room for any youth prospects that the club wants to bring through. Although I could see another CB loan for depth as a possibility this summer as well.

Let’s start with the backup centre back position. Instead of the usual plan of profiling and then using data, for this spot I’d like to take an opportunity to explain another concept.

Every window there is clamour for couple of players within the Premiership, Josh Mulligan was the main one in the summer. I assume Elliot Watt, who I will talk about in the midfielders article, will be the big one going into this summer.

Most of these players are simply not Rangers quality, the average Scottish Premiership team just does not prepare a player for Ibrox. Most teams aren’t developing great technical quality, which is what Rangers require from their starters.

This isn’t to say that Rangers shouldn’t have Scottish players or look at the Scottish market, just that care needs to be taken. Most of the options that Rangers can take are similar to Connor Barron or Lyall Cameron; hard working players who don’t add a lot on the ball.

These types of player are completely fine to have in the squad, but Rangers shouldn’t be spending money on them. Those qualities are the bare minimum that you expect from a footballer, you can develop hard workers in your own academy.

If Rangers are going to spend money on Scottish league talent, then they have to show clear signs of being a quality footballer. The sort of player who is obviously better than than the average level of the Premiership. Think of someone like John McGinn, the talent was obvious and one of the Old Firm should have taken advantage before another club noticed.

This style of thinking brings us to our first player of the article.

Luke Graham

Luke Graham has seriously impressed for Dundee in his first full premiership season. In his age 21 season, Graham has featured in nearly every league game this season and has been one of the better defenders in the league.

This is all great but given what I explained before, what makes Luke Graham good enough for Rangers? This is where we have to look at scalability. Meaning, how do Luke Grahams’ attributes look in a team like Rangers?

Physically, Luke Graham looks ready to step up a level. He has a strong build, standing at around 6’3 and shows good understanding of how to use that strength against Premiership competition. He also has good recovery pace for someone his size, able to be aggressive and still get back to position.

You can see that in Scotland, Graham is an imposing physical presence. I think his athletic profile will allow him to handle the sort of open space defending that Rangers centre backs are faced with.

This isn’t to say he’s the finished article in this regard, he’s sometimes a bit naïve when defending players who can match his physicality. When he faced Rangers earlier in the season, there were a few moments against Thelo Aasgaard where Graham was too aggressive and easily bypassed by a player strong enough to hold him off. Here’s a clip of one of those instances below. Aasgaard easily rolls Graham and he’s forced to foul.

Defensively, I think Graham is extremely well developed for such a young player. His positional discipline and defensive awareness are strong and make him a very assured defender. These skills are important when moving to European level as the movement of forwards gets increasingly more intelligent.

The clip above outlines this awareness. The player Graham is marking looks to run in behind but he is immediately alert to the danger, adjusting his position to block the space. He then considers following his man but realises that he will get dragged out of position so he decides to hold. As St Mirren move towards the box, he angles his body and drops back, protecting against a run into the box while remaining able to close down a cutback.

These next clips show some of Grahams’ on ball play, this is the area that has the most possibility for development in my opinion. His overall passing play isn’t particularly dynamic, although he does show quality under pressure. He does fizz passes into the middle, which some of his teammates struggle with. I think being in a team that has a lot of possession will allow him to substantially develop this area.

Graham is quite a talented ball carrier for his position. He is great at escaping pressure and carrying the ball forward. This is something John Souttar is very good at and it can open up a lot of avenues going forward when the centre backs can break lines this way.

All of these elements combine to make a player I think Rangers won’t want to miss out on. If he can continue to develop then you have the sort of player who can be a major part of this team for years.

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The Starter

The centre back position is, more than any other in my opinion, a partnership. At teams like Rangers especially, where it can be you and your partner defending on your own against counter attacks all game.

These partners must compliment each other, Athletic writer Michael Cox defined the partnership of Johnny Evans and Çağlar Söyüncü at Leicester as “Cat and Dog”. Evans being the cat that waits to pounce and Söyüncü the dog eager to attack.

I prefer to call it an “aggressor” and an “anchor”, one to plug the attack at source and one to keep the ship steady. With our assumption that Emmanuel Fernandez stays at Rangers this summer, Rangers already have their aggressor.

Fernandez loves to engage opponents early and get involved in duels. He’s also the one who’s willing to step forward with the ball and play the risky pass. Now we need to find his anchor, someone to keep everything grounded.

The Profile

Our profile for this begins as you would expect, 6’2 and above with more than 1000 minutes played this season. I looked at players 21-26 as I wanted someone with solid first team experience to take on this role.

To find our anchor, I added in centre backs who were around the average in their leagues for duels taken, both ground and aerial, while maintaining above average win rates. This aims to find players who are picking their fights wisely and winning them.

Then I wanted someone who was above average in progressive passing and progressive pass accuracy. Even though the anchor is the less ball dominant of the pair, in a team like Rangers they need to be solid moving the ball.

The last profiling decision I made was to look for both right and left sided centre backs. I felt that Fernandez was much more comfortable on the right side when playing at Peterborough, with much more confidence in the passing game.

This allows the opportunity to move Fernandez to the right side of defence if we find a suitable left sided candidate. For this article I chose one centre back on each side as potential targets.

Casper Widell

Casper Widell is a 22 year old right sided centre back player for Excelsior Rotterdam in the Eredivisie. He stands at 6’4 and is an impressive physical specimen, finding very few matches in the Netherlands.

Widell is a clear leader, constantly organising the Excelsior backline and controlling the team. His communication would be a clear asset to a Rangers squad that lacks leadership, especially with the captain leaving.

The clips above outline his defensive ability, he is always patient and waits before engaging an opponent. He has won 68% of his defensive duels in the last year and averages 13 ball recoveries per game. This measured approach to defending is what makes an anchor.

His great acceleration and recovery speed allows him to get back even after making a mistake. He also positions himself in a way that allows him to closely mark players, relying on his pace to reposition to other dangers.

The clip above is a more settled defensive situation. The ball turns over, Widell is alert to the runner off the ball and his positioning contains the situation. As the play develops towards the box, Widell never loses track of his man while maintaining the body shape to defend the cross.

Widell is fantastic in the air, winning around 60% of his aerial duels. He is great in both boxes, getting good height and timing his jumps well. Adding this to being extremely tall makes him a proper goal scoring threat, especially if you add Fernandez in that mix as well. He’s also very composed when making defensive headers, aiming to find a teammate wherever possible and keep control.

Widell’s passing game is controlled and precise, sitting at around 85% pass accuracy. He is comfortable on both feet, even under pressure. He is efficient at progressing the ball from the back, rarely losing the ball while making around 8 progressive passes per game. He does sometimes go backward under pressure when there are passing options forward. This is the nature of the anchor however, stability is the key.

This map of his progressive passes shows this nature. Most of the passes are those simple balls that break the first line into midfield, getting attacks started. When he sees the opportunity, he will take on those long diagonal passes to the opposite flank.

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Giannis Michailidis

Giannis Michailidis is a 26 year old left sided centre back playing for PAOK in Greece. The Greek international was a major prospect in the early parts of this decade before an ACL injury derailed things. A few years on from this injury, I feel he’s found form again.

Before the injury, Michailidis was not the type of defender you would peg for an anchor. He was aggressive and front footed, loving to engage high up the pitch. He can still do this but in his recovery I believe he’s changed his game enough to handle being an anchor, just in a different way to Widell.

The clips above show some of his work in duels and defensive situations. You can see he will still take aggressive stances but only if there is sufficient cover, he also doesn’t put himself in positions where he would leave a gap if he lost the duel.

He waits for good timings to tackle 1 vs 1 and still has that great ability to nip in and win the ball from awkward angles. He has also become more of a “no nonsense” style of defender when in covering positions, he doesn’t take risks when sweeping up behind his partner.

This graph shows his defensive duels won in the league over the last year, white dots are normal duels and the black dots are sliding tackles. Most of them are around the corner of the box defending the open spaces, this will translate well to Rangers where a lot of his defending will be isolated. He doesn’t take these duels as much as before but maintains a high win rate, 66% this season, showing his development after injury.

When the ball reaches the right flank, you see Michailidis take up the position to cover his full back. As the play progresses across the pitch, he always stays the deeper of the two centre backs. He keeps a balanced body position, ready to break on the cross while still able to affect the striker if he makes a move.

Micahilidis is excellent in the air, especially defensively. His timing of jumps and use of his arms is really good at beating opponents under pressure. He has maintained a 59% win rate in the last year, most of those losses coming nearer the middle of the pitch. Michailidis has only lost 4 aerial duels in the box in this time, this would make him a huge defensive asset in Scotland particularly.

The passing side is where Micahilidis differentiates himself, not as strong on both feet as Widell, but his left foot is fantastic. He can make those line breaking progressions and the clips show him getting out of trouble with those long passes out wide.

He averages an incredible 13 progressive passes per 90 and 27 forward passes per 90. This is at the top end for every position in the league, not just his centre back peers. Some of this is the nature of the centre back position, as they now see more of the ball than anyone else in football, but he’s still one of the best in position.

His progressive pass map reveals all of this, forward passing, diagonals to wingers in space and passes into the centre of the pitch. He really can do it all in this regard.

Conclusion

I think the decision here comes down to the Fernandez positioning idea. Widell is pretty clearly the best prospect out of the two, is a leader and at only 22 could make the club some money down the line too.

Michailidis is the better passer and has shown he can physically handle European football, even post injury. Bringing him in would allow Fernandez to be more comfortable positionally as well.

Both players have one year left on their contract, PAOK will be able to demand more money for Michailidis than Excelsior will for Widell. Right now there are no major rumours of competition for their signature but I expect that to change as we get into the window.

After watching them both play a considerable amount, I think Widell is just too good of a player to say no to. He could anchor the Rangers defence for years or turn a major profit. Despite the lack of European experience, his physical skills are so clear that I don’t think that transition will be a struggle for him.

So at the end of this one, we have our defence fully set. Next up will be the midfield group, an area Rangers have struggled to figure out for years now.

This article was written for Scottishfootball.info by Josh Duncan, an aspiring sports writer, who has his own Substack account.
Please follow him there and on X.com - where you can find more of his threads in the coming months.

His previous writing for the website includes a well-received tactical analysis of Falkirk F.C this season. Josh’s latest article will be the second in a series of ‘squad building’ exercises, looking specifically at Rangers.

In the opening instalment to this series, I gave an introduction to the Rangers squad and its future. The amount of change needed in the summer was outlined, due in part to the number of loans within the squad this season. I then explained my own ideas and philosophy about how the squad should be built, finishing with the addition of a new goalkeeper.

In this second article, we will take a look at the next positional group: the full backs. In recent years, this area of the pitch has been solidified on the right and the complete opposite on the other side.

Captain James Tavernier has seen off all combatants for his position for a decade now but has declined in the final year of his contract. The left side has been a revolving door since the departure of Borna Barišić but now looks to have been claimed by Tuur Rommens.

So heading into this summer we need to find Rangers a new starting right back and someone to push Tuur Rommens on the other side.

Right Back Profile

James Tavernier isn’t just Rangers best goal scorer, he’s the team’s focal point. In a recent away game against St Mirren, Tavernier had nearly double the completed passes of Nicolas Raskin. He is the player that teammates look to when they need an outlet or a way forward.

While James Tavernier has been incredible for the club, the success of the team should not be so heavily reliant on one player. The goal is to balance out the squad. So when finding a new right back, we will not be trying to find another James Tavernier; we want to find another Tuur Rommens.

Rommens has been a breath of fresh air in this team and has really shown a level of quality that few of Rangers’ recent signings have managed. There are a lot of different attributes that have contributed to his impact but we are going to boil it down to a couple.

When watching Rommens play in Scotland, there are a couple of things that stand out. The first is his physicality, he really bullies opponents in Scotland and is clearly a level above most of the league in this regard. The second is decision making, whether that’s with his passing or running, Rommens knows when and where his actions need to be.

To give you an idea of his strengths, the above video is a compilation of one of Rommens’ best performances in a Rangers shirt so far - in the home 4-2 victory over Hearts,

So for our baseline, I wanted a player in the 20-24 age range that was at least 180cm tall, while playing at least 1500 minutes for their team this season. This gives us a physical foundation as well as a player young enough to develop, while also having decent experience.

To find the physicality we are looking for, I searched for players that take and win a lot of duels. I looked at all players who had taken an above average number of duels and won more than 50% of them in their respective leagues. I then filtered the same way, but with aerial duels.

Understanding a players decision making isn’t really possible through pure data analysis. To narrow down our list though, we will look at a few statistics that can outline a player that makes good decisions.

I first looked at right backs who were in the top 20% in their league for progressive passes per 90 minutes. This allows us to find players that are consistently taking opportunities to move the ball forward.

It is worth noting that the passing distance required to achieve a “progressive pass” extends the farther the pass is from goal. This means that our full backs aren’t accumulating them through 5 yard balls up to their winger.

I also looked at players that were above average for key passes, these are passes that lead directly to shots. This can show us players that are making good passing decisions to create for their teammates.

These attributes cover a lot of the system fit that we need from full backs in the way Danny Rohl likes to play. To aid this I also looked at players with high ball recovery stats and final third ball recoveries, given how much Rangers look to counter press.

The data parameters I’ve used here are quite wide overall, this is to open up the search a bit more. If we constrict the data without knowing all of the context then we could waste time with players that don’t fit, or conversely we could miss some players that do fit.

In the end I looked into 11 targets more deeply, settling on one that I will present in the article.

Right Back Target

Hampus Skoglund

Hampus Skoglund is a 22 year old Swedish right back who plays for Hammarby in the Allsvenskan. He’s been the main starter for Hammarby at the position since 2024 and had his best season last year, attracting interest from Wrexham in January.

Unlike with the goalkeepers, there is a lot more that data can add to our understanding of these players. Because of this, I will mix in some more data explanation when explaining my thoughts on the players.

Attacking

Skoglund is a modern full back in pretty much every sense. Incredibly talented in attack, great physical attributes and has questions defensively.

The clip above is a compilation of his best work going forward. What’s easy to notice straight away is his vision. Whether picking out a runner in behind or finding his team with a cross, Skoglund has really consistent execution. His weight of pass is excellent and he is very aware of his teammates movement. He also has the ability to ping those long cross field passes to players in space.

When we think of a player having vision, these are the sort of passes that usually come to mind. What Skoglund has is great vision without the ball. He is always already in space or running into space - and he’s great at exploiting the movement of his teammates; something Rommens is excellent at on the left flank.

You can see in the videos how smart he is when picking where to move. He loves to pick up positions in the half-space between the midfield and defence. He has also played an inverted full back role during the build up in some games for Hammarby.

Above is a visualisation of his progressive actions, passes in white and runs in black. As you would expect the passes are a bit of a cluster, but notice how many of them come inside to the middle of the pitch.

These passes draw defenders central and create space out wide for Skoglund to run into. With his intelligence of movement he plays well off of his wing partner and causes serious problems for the opponents attempting to track all this movement.

As demonstrated in the video clips above, Skoglund’s best skill is his ball carrying. He is able to escape pressure and win fouls. He also links really well with teammates while on the move, he has a great first touch which allows him to combine and then take the ball back in stride.

He shows great deception with his body movement, despite his larger build. This means that you often see him bypass pressing opponents as if they weren’t there. He also manipulates the ball really well under pressure, allowing him to draw contact and win fouls under pressure.

Skoglund completed 75% of his dribbles last season and he’s willing to take on opponents all over the pitch. That number only drops to 69% when analysing dribbles in the final third.

Below are two graphics, illustrating the positions Skoglund is dribbling from, the first covering the whole pitch and the second just the final third. The white dots represent normal successful dribbles, the black dribbles leading to shots and the blue shows dribbles that led to a goal.

You can see just how well he carries the ball from deep and gets his team forward from these visualisations. Combining all of these skills makes him an extremely promising attacking talent.

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Defending

Compared to his attacking talents, there is a lot more for Skoglund to work on going back the way. He has the physical ability to be a good defender but his technique in some situations lets him down.

These clips are a good representation of both his strengths and weaknesses. At his best, Skoglund is the aggressor, constantly winning the ball early and high up the pitch. He uses his physicality well and traps opponents when they receive the ball, forcing turnovers.

The graphic below shows his final third ball recoveries from the last year. The circles denominate counter pressing and the squares show pressing positionally. Once again black means it led to a shot and blue led to a goal.

Skoglund had 74 of these recoveries in the league last year which averages out to over 2 per game. He also averaged 0.7 ‘dangerous recoveries’ per 90 minutes last year; these are recoveries leading to a shot. This meant his defensive work was creating more than one shot every two games.

The issues appear when he defends in open space. You can watch him face up his opponent and see how frantic his movement is. He always wants to show his opponent down the line and ends up completely off balance when trying to backpedal at this angle. This allows his opponent to accelerate either direction with no chance of Skoglund to match the movement.

When the 1v1 situations are deeper towards his goal, Skoglund becomes solid again. He is much more composed and patient, winning the ball back often. The panic isn’t there in these situations and his footwork is much more controlled, with his strength he becomes a formidable defender.

Overall the upside of Skoglund’s talent is hard to ignore. The potential for him to become a fantastic attacking right back is clear to see. What he does well defensively fits Rangers well and what he struggles with is something that can be coached. There’s plenty of time for development with him being just 22 years old.

In the original article, I had James Tavernier as the backup. My original idea was that he would be a strong backup for another year if he would agree to a wage reduction.

After considering the position more while compiling this article, using Dujon Sterling as the back up right back just makes more sense. You lose one of the highest earning players, while keeping some continuity in a backline poised to lose at least 4 players - 5 if you include Tavernier.

Sterling’s flexibility means he can realistically cover the whole defence, while still having right back as his main role. In a summer with so much to achieve in terms of the squad, finding two right backs is a task that’s best avoided.

Left Back

The situation at left back is quite different than the opposite flank now that Tuur Rommens has arrived. His only drawback so far has been fitness, which you would hope is rectified by a full pre-season at the club. Still, with Jayden Meghoma returning to his parent club, the Belgian requires an understudy.

This summer, I expect a bit of a Scottish revolution within the squad. John Souttar and Connor Barron are the only senior Scottish players expected to be at the club next season. Although that is slightly harsh on the now Scotland international Findlay Curtis. I believe we will see a few more Scots in the door this summer.

In January, former Hearts full back James Penrice was linked as a possible alternative to Rommens. He may well be considered by the club as his possible competition. I think this would be missing an opportunity. This position may be less about scouting and more about trusting the talent already available to the club.

I wrote an article a few weeks ago talking about Rangers struggles to develop players, this extended to both the first team and youth setup. In this discussion, I mentioned the potential loss of young left back Ashton Scally.

Multiple Premier League clubs have reportedly showed interest and Chelsea appeared to have come close to stealing his signature at the start of this year. Since those reports, there have been recent suggestions that Rangers may have fought the English teams off to secure Scally on his first professional contract.

The spot at left back could be a great opportunity to introduce one of your best talents to the first team. Scally has trained with the senior squad before and Danny Röhl was ready to give him his debut in the Scottish Cup before SFA rules got in the way.

He will be 16 by the time the next season starts and completely free to play in all competitions. There’s obviously a bit of risk here, trusting a 16 year old to be the backup here is a possible risk if Rommens were to sustain a major injury.

However, I firmly believe that the club need to start trusting these talents more. It is very difficult to develop into a Rangers player on loan at other Scottish clubs; the environment is too different at other teams. English teams frequently send youngsters up to Scotland to get experience, it’s time Rangers started developing talent for themselves rather than for others. The club also have Dujon Sterling who can cover here as well, so there’s not as much jeopardy.

Of course there’s still a possibility that the club lose Scally and in that case there would need to be other targets. Until that is the case I would suggest that giving him this opportunity is best for the club and the future of the academy.

So after two articles here’s how my Rangers squad looks for next season. The centre back positions are up next - ensure you are subscribed here at ScottishFootball.info to receive the next article straight to your inbox.

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This article was written for Scottishfootball.info by Josh Duncan, an aspiring sports writer, who has his own Substack account that you can follow. Please follow him there and on X.com - where you can find more of his threads in the coming months.

His previous writing for the website includes a well-received tactical analysis of Falkirk F.C this season. Josh’s latest article will be the first in a series of ‘squad building’ exercises, looking specifically at Rangers F.C.

After the climax of this crazy Scottish Premiership season, Rangers will be faced with an all too familiar situation in the summer. After sacking the sporting director and CEO in November 2025, the new ownership seemingly admitted that most of the decisions made at the club last year - especially in recruitment - were a mistake. It’s therefore reasonable to conclude that the club are likely in for yet another summer rebuild.

Regardless of the quality of the squad, it is clear that changes will need to be made to prepare for a full season under Danny Röhl. Much of the current squad was recruited for Russell Martin and that will need to be rectified. There are also a considerable amount of loan players in the squad, who will need to be replaced in some way.

This summer will be the first major test of the clubs new committee style transfer strategy. This is how the club restructured its recruitment process after the sacking of Kevin Thelwell, operating in this way during the January window. This time however, they will have had more time to better prepare for the summer window.

I thought it would be an interesting exercise to explain how I would go about transitioning this squad. Explaining how I would build through each position group and giving transfer targets; talking through the process for each one. One of the biggest clubs in Scotland have struggled to build a sustainable core of players for several years now - but I’m sure that I can fix everything in a few articles!

The opening article of this series will focus on explaining my overall thoughts on building the squad. As well as an explanation of the scouting process and how I will use data to inform those decisions. I will conclude by giving my goalkeeping targets.

Squad Building

The first step in building the squad is obviously looking at what you already have. For the purpose of this series, there will have to be some assumptions here, and I will discuss these for each position in turn. I will be trying to explain what I think Rangers should do with the squad, while keeping things as realistic as I can.

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The above is the Rangers squad for the title run-in. The 27-man squad includes six loan players who will need replacing, especially given four of the nine defenders are loanees (Meghoma, Cornelius, Djiga and Aarons). Additionally, there are a few contracts about to expire for which decisions will need to be made. Then we have loan players returning from other clubs - although a few of them I expect will be candidates for sale.

We will be building for Danny Röhl’s style of play, which focuses on counter pressing and direct attacks. So as much as we want to find good players, they must also be a fit for the style or at least have potential to develop the necessary skills.

The goal will be to have a squad that has quality over quantity, targeting specific profiles for each position. This may mean a thinner squad but this will afford opportunities for academy players to form the depth. The use of utility players like Dujon Sterling will supplement the squad as well. Adding a bit of experience will be needed as well, given the average age of the squad.

This is the foundation I will be working from to begin with. There are definitely a few areas that may be confusing at first viewing. The squad having 3 players who are due to be out of contract is one of them, while there are several players I believe should be sold.

As we go through each position group, I will explain my thought process behind which players should stay and which should leave.

Some of the players that I advocate for being sold are interchangeable. What’s more important is freeing up the spaces at each position. We want to build a new core that fits Röhl’s system. Plus it would be no fun doing this and only changing 3 or 4 players!

Scouting and Data Usage

When you see scouting online, it is generally very data focused. The use of data is a massive part of modern football but relying on it entirely to make decisions would be a mistake. Often you see a lot of conclusions made about players purely from data or specific stats; this is something we want to avoid.

For each different position, we want to define a profile that encompasses everything a player needs to have for that specific role. This means figuring out technical qualities required to perform these roles, as well as looking at age and physical traits.

Once we have each profile, this is when the data becomes useful. We can set data parameters to identify players who have the traits we need. Once these players have been identified, we can learn as much as possible about them and decide who is the best option.

The way we gain information is by watching as many games as possible from each player. This gives us an understanding of their qualities in many different settings. You can also learn a lot of things that won’t show in the data, as well as gaining context on the data itself.

After all of this, I will present a couple of targets at each position, with an explanation of the data and some video analysis as well. Multiple targets at each position gives us options in terms of building the squad. Each group will end with my conclusion on which target is best and a discussion about how they fit into the overall squad.

Now that we have in idea of how everything will work, we can see it in action by looking at the first position in the team; the goalkeepers.

Goalkeeping Situation

The Rangers goalkeeping situation is a bit awkward heading into this summer. Jack Butland is entering the final year of his contract, while Liam Kelly and Kieran Wright both have their contracts ending this year.

Butland has been very hit and miss throughout his time at the club. At his best he can make some great saves but his worst has seen some costly howlers. His handling and positioning have both been suspect and his ability with the ball at his feet can be poor for a modern keeper.

With one year left on his deal, trying to move him on would be best for the club, in my opinion. He will be 34 by the end of his current contract and while it would be easier than finding a replacement, committing more years to him as the number one is risky.

Liam Kelly has been a serviceable backup, as well as contributing to the homegrown rules in UEFA competition. Extending his contract to keep some continuity in the goalkeeper group feels like a smart move. He is perfectly good enough for the cup games and giving the no.1 a rest.

Finally, the third spot has been occupied by 26-year old Kieran Wright for a while now. I think it’s time to give this position to academy talent. Bringing through young goalkeepers for some first team training experience and maybe some cup minutes could be beneficial for the club long-term.

Goalkeeper Profile

So, if we’re replacing the number one goalkeeper, what are we looking for in that replacement?

The first thing we want is reliability. The inconsistency in form for Jack Butland is something we want to avoid. You may get less incredible saves but a goalkeeper who stops all the ‘shots he should save’ is the baseline. Goalkeepers are the most difficult position to measure statistically, but we will still use data to help us find candidates.

To help here we will be using the Goals Prevented statistic, which is based on xGOT (Expected Goals On Target). This measures how well goalkeepers are handling shots based on the chance quality and execution. Like with xG, the higher the number the better.

I looked at goalkeepers who had a goals prevented measured at more than 0, both accumulated and per 90 minutes. This allows us to see some options who are performing at least as well as expected.

For the rest of the profile, things are a bit more simple. We want a keeper young enough to develop, but with decent first team experience. So I looked at options aged 26 and under, who have at least two seasons with over 1,000 minutes played.

Next we want our goalkeeper to be strong in the air; having someone who can claim balls into the box and end the threat is key. So we’re looking at keepers who are 6’2 or taller and who have above average aerial duels p90. This won’t tell us how good their decisions are in the air but it gives us a starting point to find an aggressive keeper.

Finally, we want someone who is more confident with the ball at their feet. We aren’t looking for a Manuel Neuer regen here but we do want someone who can play from the back with comfort, while being able to pick out teammates with longer passes. I looked at goalkeepers with over 30 passes p90 and with an 85% or higher accuracy on those passes.

The Targets

After using the profile to narrow down potential targets, I ended up looking further into about 14 different goalkeepers. I watched a few full matches from each of them and decided on two potential targets that I thought would fit well.

Nikolas Polster

Nikolas Polster is a 23 year old Austrian goalkeeper, playing for Wolfsberger AC in the Austrian Bundesliga. Standing at 6’2, he is a decent size for a goalkeeper while still having agility and speed of foot.

After a mixed bag to start out his time at Wolfsberger, this season he has settled into solid form. Accumulating over 2 prevented goals so far this season, according to Wyscout. Now entering the final year of his contract, I believe has has a lot of the skills necessary to be Rangers next goalkeeper. With rumoured interest from Brighton and Rapid Wien in January, there might be some competition for his services.

Polster is a solid shot stopper, there are some areas he excels in and a couple parts of his game that he can develop. These strengths and weaknesses are revealed in the clips above.

In close angled shots his positioning is excellent, he covers the near post while staying ready to get down quickly. His decision making when deciding between saving with his hands or feet is very good.

He is quick and decisive when coming off his line and understands his angles. Because of this he is strong in 1v1 situations. He is also very solid with ranged attempts and will generally save everything you’d expect him to.

His biggest weakness comes from parrying. He will generally deal with first attempt but when saving with his hands, Polster often parries the ball back into danger. In fairness, he rarely seems to get help from his defence in these situations - but it is a weakness. In the set of clips, I have included a couple of the goals conceded from this issue.

The only other consistent issue is his reaction to back post crosses. Sometimes Polster gets really tight to the near post side when defending a cross; when he has to shift across his goal, he arrives too late for a back post shot.

Polster’s best attributes are his handling and aerial ability. He makes quick decisions on balls in the air and is great when he gets there. Polster shows great strength when contesting for catches in the air and almost never drops them, even when fouled.

His instincts when choosing between catching and punching are really good as well. The number of times he alleviates pressure for his team in this way is fantastic. You can see some of these moments in the clips above.

His distribution is another strength, he is comfortable with both feet and varies his passing choices a lot. He has the confidence to put his foot on the ball and bait a press, then has the skill to play passes into it. His long passing is solid on both feet as well; he rarely launches the ball aimlessly, preferring to try and pick someone out.

Jari De Busser

Jari De Busser is a 26 year old Belgian goalkeeper who plays for Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie. He is slightly taller than Polster at 6’3 and is extremely strong, he is also particularly agile for his size.

Like Polster, there is only one year left on De Busser’s contract. This makes him a prime candidate to move club this summer, with links to Feyenoord and Lorient of late.

The Belgian is a genuinely fantastic shot stopper. His performance in the final of last years KNVB Beker final carried GAE to their first trophy since 1933. This performance included some remarkable saves as well as saving 3 penalties. The selection of clips above are some of his best stops in a GAE jersey.

You can see in these clips how he stays low in his stance. Allowing him to react quickly and get down to shots in time. From this position he also generates good power in his legs to spring up to higher shots.

De Busser shows strong awareness of his positioning and understands his angles well. He also makes himself really big when closing down 1v1s, and his strong body control allows him to make saves with his legs as well.

His handling and Aerial skills are a bit more of a mixed bag. With his strength and size there is clear upside in this area but his decision making can be lacking. This inconsistency is outlined in the clips above.

When he goes for contested catches he generally wins them but too often he backs out and decides to punch. This leads to a lack of conviction and poor punches which gives the opponent chances to score.

If he can gain more confidence to use his physicality and claim the ball more often, this will improve his game considerably. Goalkeepers have a different ageing curve to the rest of football which leaves ample time for him to develop.

His distribution is also a bit inconsistent and much more one footed than Polster. Firstly, De Busser is really good when playing the ball on the ground and so his play out from the back is solid. He can play through pressure and is happy to take the ball in dangerous positions.

His long passing is slack however. Too often his passes sail way over the intended target. He does clear the ball with intention to find teammates though. In a team like Rangers who want to be direct, he may improve this skill.

Conclusion

There isn’t a lot that separates the two keepers. Polster is three years younger but the age difference isn’t as much of a factor at this position and they both make up for their deficiencies in different ways.

If we were going for system fit then I would say Polster is the better option. His skills with direct passing would benefit Danny Röhl’s style of play. His aerial ability is also a bonus in a physical league.

However, the goalkeeper is the position which I would assign the least value for system fit. Even in the modern game, the first job of a goalkeeper is to stop goals. Prioritising the player with the higher floor seems best to me here.

This is why I would choose Jari De Busser as Rangers number 1 goalie next season.

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This article was written for Scottishfootball.info by Josh Duncan, an aspiring sports writer, who has started his own Substack account that you can follow. Please follow him there and on X.com - where you can find more of his threads in the coming months.

This article is a tactical analysis of Falkirk, looking at the Bairns in possession, out of possession, their defensive issues and a focus on Brad Spencer.

When Falkirk sealed their return to the the top flight last season, most would have viewed simply staying up as a successful season. In reality, they sit sixth, above Dundee United and Aberdeen with just a few games to go before the split.

In the midst of the best title race in years, Falkirk have fallen under the radar. This is a serious success for a newly promoted team to be doing so well and playing a decent brand of football.

John McGlynn has led his team into the fight for a place in the top half of the table. Falkirk have been well worth this position, the numbers and the eye test agree that they deserve to be where they are.

So let’s take a look at Falkirk as a team and figure out how they have achieved their success this season.

In Possession

Falkirk setup in a 4-2-3-1 most weeks. This formation provides a platform for the team to play in a couple different ways while maintaining a consistent philosophy. That philosophy is based on getting the ball forward quickly.

In games where Falkirk have a good share of possession, you will see the first style they like to attack in. They are happy to play out from the back - but the goal isn’t to carve through the middle of teams. Falkirk would rather create space to get the ball into dangerous areas quickly.

When building from the back, Falkirk position their full backs high, pinning the opposition into their own half. From this situation, the centre backs can play long balls forward and this is where the formation provides an advantage.

The 4-2-3-1 allows close proximity between the midfield and the forwards. When Falkirk go long, they have a lot of bodies ready for the second ball. When they win the second ball you then see how quickly the players stream forward, creating great chances in the box. This is illustrated in the clip below.

When this doesn’t work, Falkirk are quick to use the wide areas to attack. They move the ball side to side at speed to try and get their wingers or full backs into good space. Sometimes they will play into the midfield to draw their opponents narrow and then shift out wide to players in space.

From here they will look to get shots off or get the ball into the box early. Falkirk’s midfield are excellent at reading these crosses and flooding the box. This often leads to overloads, which allow the wide players plenty of options to aim at. The next clip shows this at its best.

Out of Possession

While Falkirk have found success with the ball this season, their style really flourishes in games where they see less possession. Their strengths are amplified when they can get the ball forward in space. They get this opportunity if they can counter quickly.

You can see some of the elements that Falkirk show with the ball but amplified by the space that is there for them to attack. This time, they press high enough to force their opponents to go long. Once this happens, they use the proximity of the formation to win the second balls and get on the attack. They did this in their game against Hearts recently.

Falkirk are very good at forcing their opponents into long balls. You see how much pressure they get on the Hearts defence in the clip above. Once the header is won, you then see Falkirk swarm the player trying to control the ball. Once they win it, bodies stream forward, leading to a decent opportunity. You can see another example of this below.

If the opponent settles into possession, then Falkirk will try and trap them out wide. They cover one side of the pitch with the angles of their pressing and try to force the build up over to the wing. This often forces the opponent to play a risky pass and lose the ball. Leading to the situations that Falkirk thrive on, flooding into space.

Below is a clip of them doing this against Hearts. You can see how the path to the far side of the pitch is blocked by the Falkirk press. Halkett feels the pressure closing in and forces a pass into the midfield, allowing Falkirk to win the ball and break. A bit more composure and this is probably a goal.

Defensive Issues

Falkirk aren’t perfect of course. When watching them, you see that there is a clear flaw in their defending. That flaw is defending their penalty area. Balls into the box have been the bane of Falkirk’s season.

It is clear that they are just not comfortable when a ball comes into the box. No matter if it’s a cross, corner or throw in. You can see just how unconvincing Falkirk are in these situations by watching this goal conceded against Dundee United.

When the opponent sends crosses into Falkirk’s box there is a sense of panic. Even when they are able to clear away the initial cross, Falkirk are very scrappy when a second ball comes in.

This was how they lost the game against Hearts. You can see below that Falkirk deal with the original cross quite comfortably. When Hearts send the ball forward again, Falkirk’s shape is all over the place. This disorganisation allows Hearts far too much space in the middle. The ball gets into the box and some scrappy defending allows Hearts to score.

So now that we have an understanding of how Falkirk like to play, I would like to talk about a player who has been massive in their success this season.

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Brad Spencer

Brad Spencer is Falkirk’s vice captain and has led the team most of this season in Coll Donaldson’s absence. He plays as part of a midfield duo that sit in front of their backline. He has been consistently one of the best midfielders in the Scottish Premiership this season and facilitates a lot of what Falkirk do.

He is a very aggressive defender, who puts opponents under a lot of pressure. His intensity can be felt throughout every game, where you can see him win the ball and get Falkirk moving.

This aggressiveness should not be confused for being rash, though. Spencer is very aware of his positioning and the danger opponents pose. So even if he isn’t winning the ball, you will see him slowing down attacks and snuffing out danger. You can see examples of this in the clips below.

Compared to his peers as a deeper lying midfielder, Spencer is an excellent attacking influence. Amongst defensive midfielders with 1000 minutes played this season, Spencer ranks first in ‘expected assists’. This shows how much of a creative influence he is.

He does only have one assist this season but what that tells us is that his teammates aren’t always being clinical with the opportunities he creates. His expected assists number comes from his ability as a shot creator. He is consistently able to find teammates in spaces to get shots away.

Below is a clip of his only assist of the season. Spencer finds great space in the box and shows the composure to find a teammate when the ball comes to him.

You can see from the below graph that the data backs up these strengths. Spencer is a ball winner who can get his team moving. This is why he is perfect for this Falkirk team and how they like to play.

His ball winning and defensive stats are excellent in comparison to his peers. He is above the 90th percentile for successful defensive actions, showing his consistency without the ball.

It is also clear how well he creates shooting opportunities for his team. Looking at the left hand side of the graph you see the above average ranks in all three shot creating metrics. It shows how much of a creative impact he has relative to his position.

Can Falkirk Keep it Going?

When a newly promoted team has success like this, there is often a feeling that it won’t last. Teams may '‘figure them out’ the next year or maybe they will lose key players to bigger clubs.

In the case of Falkirk, I think that the success is sustainable. Falkirk are actually underperforming their xG this season; Scoring 32 goals from 37.5 xG. While you do see them be a bit wasteful in front of goal, there is room for positive regression here, resulting in them scoring more goals.

In terms of defending, Falkirk have conceded 36 goals from 38.8 xGA. This shows that they are conceding goals in line with what is expected. This number is the 6th lowest xGA in the premiership, which is the position they sit in the table.

This data is surface level and looking at data is never the be-all and end-all when understanding a football team. What it can do is give us an indicator of future performance. In Falkirk’s case, the indications are positive.

These numbers, mixed with what I have found from watching Falkirk, give me the impression that they can carry this success into the next season. Their style fits both the squad that they have and the league that they play in. That marriage has brought great results.

Falkirk have had significant contributions from loan players this season. Henry Cartwright, Kyrell Wilson and Filip Lissah have all been involved consistently throughout the campaign. If these players are not here next season, being able to replace these minutes adequately will have significant bearing on next season.

If Falkirk can keep hold of their manager and can replace the retuning loan players, I believe they can continue this success into next season.