Rangers defender Johnly Yfeko is sparking real excitement amid recent praise from Ibrox boss Michael Beale.
The Gers beat Hamburg 2-1 on Saturday afternoon as Beale continued his preparations for the new season.
Established first-team stars made the difference as Fashion Sakala and James Tavernier got themselves on the scoresheet.
Rangers appear to be making progress under Beale and a few more signings should seriously help launch a title push.
Rangers supporters may also want to see young prospects emerging into the first team.
Alex Lowry remains highly rated but Leon King has now picked up an injury that will rule him out for a while.
That may just open the door for Johnly Yfeko – especially with Beale impressed with his development.
Johnly Yfeko earns Michael Beale praise
Yfeko maybe isn’t a household name even in Glasgow, but there are high hopes for him at Ibrox.
A left-sided defender who joined Rangers from the Leicester City ranks; it’s easy to see who Yfeko is being compared to as he makes his way in his career.
The parallels to Calvin Bassey are clear and he ended up making Rangers a lot of money with his 2022 move to Ajax.
Yfeko is only 20 but he was brought on at half time against Hamburg and certainly impressed Beale.
The Rangers boss told Rangers Review that he felt Yfeko did ‘very, very well’ against Hamburg.
When pressed about signing another defender, Beale added that Yfeko is really giving him something to think about due to his development.
“I thought Johnly did very, very well again,” said Beale.
“Possibly, but Johnly leaves me something to think about as well,” he added.
Yfeko offers another left-footed option at the back, which may just tempt Beale to pull a U-turn on his apparent plans to sign a new defender.
Rangers have been tracking Auston Trusty and Jonathan Panzo all summer but deals for the Arsenal and Nottingham Forest defenders have been elusive.
If Rangers can’t land either of them, maybe Yfeko will be given some opportunities to shine – and the expectation is gradually building with Beale clearly a big fan.
Yfeko may not become Bassey 2.0, but the hopes will rise as he continues to make a burgeoning impact around the first team.
