Ross McCrorie made his debut for Aberdeen in a Scottish Premiership clash against St Johnstone on Thursday night, just days after sealing a transfer from Rangers [afc.co.uk].
The 22-year-old has joined on loan until the end of the season, with the Dons obligated to buy the Gers Academy product next summer.
McCrorie is a versatile operator and it was always going to be interesting to see how Derek McInnes used him.
Former Rangers boss Pedro Caxinha predicted that the Scotland U21 skipper would blossom into both the Gers and Scotland’s best ever centre-back but Steven Gerrard saw the player’s future in midfield, branding the decision to play him at the back as ‘careless’ [Scottish Sun].
It seems McInnes is on the same wavelength as the Portuguese, though, as he deployed McCrorie on the right side of a back three on debut.
There wasn’t a huge amount for the loanee to do during his first appearance in what was a dull match.
Yet, he looked comfortable in possession and dealt with the Saints’ odd foray forward, helping to secure his team a clean sheet, with Ryan Hedges netting a deflected 82nd-minute winner.
It’s interesting to see that Caixinha, McInnes and Kenny Jackett – who used McCrorie predominantly at right-back during his time on loan at Portsmouth last season – all believe he is better suited to a role in defence than midfield.
With regular game time likely to be forthcoming across the remainder of the season, it’ll be down to the player himself to nail down his best position and perhaps once and for all prove Gerrard’s comments to be misguided.
