As Andy Halliday questions Rangers’ recruitment, this is an argument the Ibrox faithful have heard before.
The Scottish Premiership challengers have long been accused of stockpiling a similar type of player rather than diversifying their roster.
Philippe Clement inherited a midfield lacking in real athleticism or physicality when replacing Mick Beale in the Ibrox dugout last year. What Rangers did have, however, was a host of similar ‘number ten’ types.
Sam Lammers, Tom Lawrence, Todd Cantwell, Kieran Dowell and Ianis Hagi were all under contract at the time.
Now, Rangers have done plenty to strike more of a balance. Lammers has gone, Cantwell was sold to Blackburn Rovers, and Hagi is in exile. Connor Barron and Mohamed Diomande have been snapped up too, meanwhile, offering more tenacity in the deeper areas.
But, still, the deadline day arrival of Nedim Bajrami leaves Halliday with more questions than answers.
Andy Halliday has concerns over Rangers newbie Nedim Bajrami
The £3.5 million former Sassuolo ace shone on his full debut on Saturday.
Two-goal hero Cyriel Dessers lauded a ‘very, very good’ Bajrami after the Albanian set up the striker’s second of the afternoon in that 3-0 League Cup quarter-final victory over Dundee.
Bajrami, just past the hour mark, fizzed a pinpoint cross into Dessers’ path with his weaker right foot.
But, that flying start aside, Halliday sees little from Bajrami to suggest that he will give Rangers anything that they didn’t already have.
“He does look good. [But] I look at Rangers right and I do think – see the top level, where they are going to play Europa League or they are going to play Celtic – I do think they have a real lack of athleticism in that team,” the now-Motherwell midfielder argues.
“I look at the boy Bajrami and I think; ‘He is a right good technical player’. But, again, no real pace or power.”
The ex-Empoli schemer is certainly less of an out-and-out winger, with Halliday feeling he is another number ten in the Lawrence mould.
Bajrami told the Rangers faithful he prefers to play through the middle, after all, rather than in the wide-left role he occupied against Dundee.
And Halliday fears that, against high-quality opposition, Rangers will be pining for the sort of speed they used to possess on the flanks when Abdallah Sima and, to a lesser extent, Fabio Silva were calling Glasgow home.
“I think when it gets to these games, I think Bajrami looks quite similar [to Rangers’ other options],” Halliday adds. “[But he is} a really nice football player. Easy on the eye, technical.”
Cyriel Dessers talks up Rangers connection with Bajrami
Welcoming both the 25-year-old and his fellow deadline day recruit to Ibrox a few weeks ago, Clement highlighted the versatility Bajrami and Neraysho Kasanwirjo bring to Rangers.
Kasanwirjo offers competition at centre-half, in defensive midfield and in both full-back roles. Bajrami can be utilised both through the middle and out wide.
And with Dessers in outstanding form – seven goals in nine games so far this season – Bajrami’s eye for a pass and his fine execution should help serve up even more opportunities for a striker who may find himself gorging on a veritable buffet of chances in the final third over the coming months
And, while Halliday may have a point about Rangers’ recruitment, Clement can still turn to Ross McCausland and Rabbi Matondo if he feels that the team would benefit from a bit more directness and a burst of acceleration.
“Yeah, I know Nedim. I played against him in Italy, so I know his qualities,” Dessers, who joined Rangers from Cremonese, said after his Dundee brace. “He’s a very, very good player, so I was happy when he signed.
“He showed things in training. He showed things today that make me happy as a striker. He’s a player who is looking for a striker, trying to provide, trying to find a good connection, so we can help each other with runs or passes.
“I think you can see the connection, but not only with him. I think with Vaclav [Cerny] at the other side, with Tom Lawrence in midfield, I think I have a good connection with all of these guys. And it’s only the beginning of the season.
“I think that’s surely a start to build on.”
Rangers face Malmo in the Europa League this week before hosting Hibernian on Sunday.
