The advent of readily available statistics and date has made it easier than ever to assess who might, or might not be a good fit for Rangers.
Whenever a player is linked with a move to Ibrox, goals and assists, key passes, duel success, pass completion and every other measurement is used to decide before they have signed, whether or not they will be a success.
Sometimes, in the case of Sam Lammers, the doubters are correct from the word go, however, there are also players like Jose Cifuentes who didn’t like the cold but looked on paper like a world beater.
Others, tick all the boxes, like Kenny McLean; a club captain, experienced in the Premier League, with 50 international caps, knows the SPFL well and is a diehard Rangers fan.
Last summer, McLean was linked with Rangers, and it seemed like only a matter of time before a deal was announced, although the recent international break shows that Nils Koppen was right to pull the plug.
Rangers made the right call by not signing Kenny McLean
When Connor Barron was announced as joining the Rangers squad, Stevie Clifford of the Four Lads Had a Dream podcast hinted that McLean might not be the only homegrown talent arriving at Ibrox:
“He might have another Scottish midfielder in next to him, so we’ll have to wait and see how that one develops,” Clifford said of the speculation linking McLean.
Against Greece, in both legs of the UEFA Nations League play-off, McLean partnered Billy Gilmour with the Napoli midfielder the main orchestrator.
On paper, McLean’s statistics look fine, especially in the 3-0 defeat at Hampden, but statistics, on this occasion, don’t tell the full story.
On too many occasions, McLean would turn away from simple forwards passes and go back to his own goal, he was also taking too many touches in the final third as Scotland looked to break down a stubborn Greek defence.
Both red flags for a Rangers midfielder, especially facing a low block on most weeks domestically.
McLean was also slow to react at every Greek goal and offered little protection to John Souttar and co.
Why Nicolas Raskin is a better player than Kenny McLean
Compare and contrast to Nicolas Raskin.
Nicolas Raskin crowned ‘Man of the Match’ v Ukraine as Belgium fans rave about ‘little prince’, earning plaudits from fans and media alike as he led his country to a 3-0 win over Ukraine.
Raskin does what McLean doesn’t, he passes the eye test.
The ball is moved quicker, he contributes at both ends of the park and he sets the tempo.
Koppen not signing a No.6 was the best decision he made of the summer, not spending ‘substantial’ funds on McLean wasn’t far behind.
