Rangers winger Brandon Barker ended on a high before the international break with a well-taken goal off the bench during Sunday’s 8-0 hammering of Hamilton.
It was just his third strike since signing for the club in the summer of 2019 and he’s struggled for regular playing time at Ibrox.
However, Jordan Jones’ breach of Covid regulations and subsequent suspension is likely to benefit Barker over the coming weeks and months.
Prior to his misdemeanour, there was already a feeling that Northern Ireland international, Jones, was on his last chance at Rangers.
Therefore, while the specific length of his suspension hasn’t yet been confirmed, it’s hard to see him back competing for a spot any time soon.
His absence reduces the competition for places for Barker, who, aside from Ryan Kent, is now the only real out-and-out winger in the first-team fold.
Jamie Murphy and Jake Hastie are both out on loan while Glenn Middleton hasn’t made a senior appearance since the 2018/19 season.
Steven Gerrard has a plethora of options for the right-sided attacking slot including Joe Aribo, Ianis Hagi, Kemar Roofe and Cedric Itten.
However, as was shown at Parkhead last month and at Motherwell in September, the manager does occasionally look to deploy two out-and-out wingers in the starting XI, while with nine substitutes permitted in the Premiership, there’ll always be room for one on the bench.
With Jones out of contention for the foreseeable future, Barker will now invariably be the player Gerrard turns to when he’s looking to start with or to inject pace into a game.
The former Manchester City starlet has often been criticised by supporters and has struggled to produce consistently since moving north of the border.
However, he’s shown flashes of quality this season and he could be about to get the run of appearances he needs to kick on.
