There was no place in the Rangers squad for Greg Stewart on Thursday night, as Steven Gerrard’s side drew 1-1 with Porto.
Yet, as we look ahead to Sunday’s clash with Motherwell, he’s surely one of those who should come in.
The manager has already stated that there won’t be wholesale changes, just a freshening of the XI.
Given Stewart’s pair of performances ahead of the international break, though, he certainly warrants a spot.
Against Aberdeen, to the delight of the fans, he wreaked havoc amongst the visitor’s defence, scoring in the first half before hitting the post and then winning a penalty later in the piece.
Drifting into spaces between the lines, he was ever hungry for the ball and keen to get shots off. He provided a new threat for Rangers, a more potent one than has been offered by Scott Arfield so far this season.
In the next home fixture against Hamilton, the result was the same. The Gers romped to a 5-0 win and although not quite as influential as against the Dons, the £450k-rated star [Transfermarkt] impressed once more.
It was his perfectly waited ball that sent Jermain Defoe clean through to open the scoring. That was the crucial goal that opened the floodgates, and it was the ex-Birmingham City man’s subtlety that created it.
In those two games, Stewart registered a goal and two assists [Transfermarkt]. That’s more than Scott Arfield, who has just the one goal and no assists, has produced in eight league appearances across 2019/20 [Transfermarkt].
Therefore, while the Canada skipper will also be fresh having only played a cameo role against Porto, the man from Stirling should get the nod on Sunday.
