Ben Davies could provide a long-term option at left-back according to former Ranger Kirk Broadfoot.
The ex-Gers centre-half turned full-back might not be known for his brains, however, he might have a point on this one.
Ben Davies has had a stop/start campaign since arriving from Liverpool, a mixture of injury and personal issues prevented him from hitting the ground running in the way that Rangers needed him to do.
Since the arrival of Michael Beale, Davies has been an almost ever present and has been a key reason in Rangers results improving alongside Connor Goldson.
An Old Firm final defeat in the league cup saw him targeted for criticism as did an individual error against the same opponents in the recent league encounter.
The 27-year old is now being hyper analysed with every misplaced pass seeing Davies being brandished as not good enough.
The return to fitness of John Souttar has done little to help his cause, the only player to emerge from the Pittodrie shambles with any credit has looked a solid option and now Michael Beale has a genuine decision to make.
What does the future hold for Ben Davies at Rangers?
Kirk Broadfoot has an idea though and thinks that a move reminiscent of one taken by Walter Smith with himself and Sasa Papac could be the way forward, as told to The Scottish Sun, via Football Scotland:
“Davies is someone who looks like he is good with the ball at his feet, but I don’t know if he is really aggressive enough.
“He can get rolled and bullied sometimes in the middle, and I would be tempted to play him at left centre-back of a three or even left-back.”
Davies is a good player suffering from a dip in confidence.
A couple of mistakes shouldn’t detract from the number of games where he was man of the match or one of our best players.
Davies, who has played most of his football in the Championship is more than used to physical strikers but he wouldn’t be the first player to have a difficult period in a Light Blue jersey.
Few would have predicted that Papac would become a fans’ favourite and cult hero and yet the shift by Smith saw him become exactly that.
Selling Borna Barisic in the summer could be a wise move to clear the path for Ridvan Yilmaz but it could also be one that allows Davies to do what he does best without the pressure of being in the middle.
Interestingly, the idea of Beale playing with three at the back has been mentioned before and it could be that a formation change sees Rangers return to a more solid looking set-up.
Now isn’t that a novel idea?
