Joe Dodoo’s Rangers career isn’t looking great, that much is certain even if he starred in the Carabao Cup last night.
Dodoo set up the second goal for Blackpool in their 2-0 home win against QPR last night. It was a shock result given QPR are a Championship side and Blackpool curently sit eighth in League One.
Since being shipped out on-loan to Blackpool, Dodoo has only bagged one goal in seven matches. Kyle Lafferty and Alfredo Morelos both have five and seven respectively this term.
Yet, credit to Dodoo for an extremely positive display against QPR in last night’s Carabao Cup success. The forward started the match and looked a handful all evening. Despite the fact he didn’t get on the scoresheet, he put in a good display and provided a lovely assist for Jay Spearing’s strike.
In the bigger picture, however, will it even matter what Dodoo does at Blackpool? At this point in his Rangers career, it feels like there may be no way back given how far down the pecking order he is.
A way back for Joe?
When you think of players that Rangers need to get off the wage bill as soon as possible, Dodoo is a standout. Steven Gerrard didn’t even need to look at him before he shipped him down south. That was a telling moment in his Rangers career, and shows how steep the hill still is for him to climb.
His display against QPR was a decent start, but Dodoo needs to be standout every week. That’s the only way he’ll convince Gerrard that he can still play even a small part in Rangers’ future.
There’s also the fact that Dodoo may not actually wish to return to Ibrox.
At 23-years of age, Dodoo needs to be playing every week. There’s an extremely limited chance of that happening in Govan. In fact, if we’re being honest, there’s no chance of it in truth. Morelos and Lafferty are looking formidable up front, and that partnership won’t be split anytime soon.
Just look at the trouble Umar Sadiq is having getting into the Gers side this season.
If Dodoo is to have any future at Ibrox, he needs to impress on a weekly-basis. At the moment, it feels like Rangers are looking to just run his contract down whilst hoping someone will buy him. If Dodoo is to change that, he needs to start firing goals in consistently.
