Rangers fans have been calling out for a hero in recent weeks and they might just have got one in the shape of Czech winger Vaclav Cerny.
The 27-year-old wideman joined on a season-long loan deal for VfB Wolfsburg in the summer and has overcome an initially rocky patch to win a place in the hearts of supporters.
Whilst there is still a long way to go for Vaclav Cerny at Rangers, the talented winger is becoming an increasingly important matchwinner for the Ibrox side.
And as Vaclav Cerny begins to win over the Rangers support, questions over whether the loan deal can be made permanent have become increasingly inevitable.
Does Vaclav Cerny have Rangers buy option?
It’s been an impressive few weeks for Vaclav Cerny at Rangers with the role of the left-footed right winger increasingly important to manager Philippe Clement.
Cerny’s absence in the 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen certainly could’ve had a sizeable impact on the final result, whilst it was the winger who set up Nedim Bajrami’s winner against Motherwell at the weekend.
Scoring six goals and laying on three assists already in his Rangers career, these are steady returns for a winger whose attitude has almost been as impressive as his current form.
Cerny might’ve wilted under the pressure of the Ibrox crowd amid a run of poor form but rather won Rangers supporters over with his response to criticism.
Since then several amongst the Rangers number have begun to wonder if the Ibrox side might have a loan-to-buy option on the attacker.
But there is no obligation to buy the winger as part of the agreement, meaning Rangers would have to go back to the negotiating table with Wolfsburg if they are serious about striking a deal.
There is one complication though; Vaclav Cerny cost the Bundesliga side around €7m (£5.8m) when he signed from FC Twente only last season.
According to a report in Czech outlet iSport, writing at the time of the transfer, Rangers would need to pay at least two thirds of this fee (£3.8m) to sign Cerny with a permanent switch certainly not ruled out.
Rangers hero hailed for impact of social media detox
Rangers manager Philippe Clement has also been discussing the form of Vaclav Cerny in recent weeks.
Speaking after Cerny deactivated his social media accounts following criticism from fans, the Belgian boss has hailed the Rangers winger for bouncing back.
Describing the Czech international as Rangers’ ‘most decisive player’ of the last few weeks, Clement claims that focusing on the negativity of social media is detrimental to achieving your aims as a footballer.
“It’s totally of no use to live in these emotions because then you can never create stability,” Clement said when discussing social media.
“There’s not one person in the world who is every day at his best and [producing] top performance.
“But that’s what’s expected from all the players and we’re pushing in that way.
“But, also in moments that they didn’t perform at their best, you need to give them also confidence to be the next time there to react in that way. So, if I would listen to that and read all of that, then I would make a lot of bad calls, I think.
“Because, for example, Cerny would not have played after Lyon. And he was the most decisive player that we had the last couple of weeks!”
