When Rangers signed Ben Davies from Liverpool in the summer, there was a substantial amount of fanfare surrounding the defender.
This was a player deemed good enough for Jurgen Klopp’s squad signed to bolster an Ibrox defence which had already been reinforced with the signing of Scotland international John Souttar.
The reported £4m fee was set to be a snip, and coupled with the fact Celtic missed out on the player only 18 months before the move had an extra Old Firm edge.
But it was against Celtic that Ben Davies’ most calamitous moment in a Rangers shirt came as the ex-Liverpool defender surrendered the lead at Celtic Park via a moment of insanity in the Ibrox box.
Initially screwing the clearance, the centre-back then tried to keep the ball in play, nodded it off Jota’s arm – much to the ire of Michael Beale and James Tavernier post-match – and Kyogo Furuhashi finished.
Ben Davies struggles to impress Rangers fans after Liverpool switch
This made it 2-1, with fellow summer signing John Souttar selling the jerseys to make it 3-1 with a short back-pass to Allan McGregor and making any notion of victory improbable.
But with John Souttar drafted in last minute in the wake of a Connor Goldson injury, it is the error of Ben Davies which has Rangers fans most frustrated after the eventual 3-2 defeat.
The big defender has struggled to make his mark at Rangers and often looks a shy, timid player who, whilst classy in the pass at times, doesn’t seem to fit into the Ibrox jigsaw.
Whether Ben Davies has struggled to settle into life at Rangers since joining from Liverpool, or if he’s still getting back to his best after personal troubles and injury problems, the Ibrox side are not seeing the best from the player.
Looking ahead to the summer, it is clear that centre-back is an area the club will need to invest with this season stumbling from one defensive calamity to the next with injuries.
Ben Davies still has plenty of convincing to do with the Rangers fans who have major doubts regarding whether or not the player’s heart is fully in the battle in Glasgow.
It’s up to Michael Beale and the recruitment team to get it right in the summer and if Ben Davies continues to look like a rabbit in the headlights then there won’t be too many surprised if he is back down south by the end of August.
