As Rangers’ summer confidence suffered an early-season blow against Olympiakos, Ben Davies did little to appease nervous Ibrox fans ahead of next season.
The Gers forked out an initial £3m rising to £4m to bring the centre-back from Liverpool last summer but so far, the move quite simply has not worked.
Besieged by injury and absences in the early part of his Rangers career, Ben Davies has failed to capture the hearts of Rangers fans in the period that he has played despite showing flashes of ability.
In games Rangers are likely to control, the expansive passing range of the defender is evident and the Ibrox side do have an almost complimentary option to Connor Goldson in this regard.
But in matches where the club might have to defend more or deal with heightened physicality, there are major questions over Ben Davies and his ability to cope with increased pressure from within both the Ibrox support and against rival sides.
Rangers defender Ben Davies failing to steal hearts
Exemplified by that horrendous goal at Celtic Park last season, the defender keeping the ball in only to lose out on physical battle with a rival attacker and eventually concede, there’s a timidity to Davies’ play that is winning him no favours in Glasgow.
That shanked clearance is also becoming something of a trademark, a sign of low confidence and a lack of concentration, and Rangers fans saw it again in the 3-1 friendly defeat to Olympiakos.
Whilst pre-season is fundamentally about fitness and familiarity with playing football matches, the Ibrox support saw a glimpse into the same issues from the same faces which plagued the club last season.
A defensive left-hand side of Borna Barisic and Ben Davies, both a tad weak-kneed and mentally fragile, is not the sort of partnership which will instil confidence into the support next season.
In the club’s defence, Rangers do appear to have a left-sided centre-back option in their sights with the likes of Arsenal defender Auston Trusty and Nottingham Forest’s Jonathan Panzo strongly linked.
But given the likes of Ben Davies were previously tipped to leave Ibrox this summer – with Heart & Hand even claiming the defender “will be sold” – the transfer sounds around him have gone decidedly quiet.
That suggests that Rangers fans will need to get used to the centre-back ahead of the new campaign and let’s hope that increasingly synonymous shakiness is all shaken out by the time we head to Rugby Park.
