The Rangers have a “strong” star on the way to become a new bassy

The Glasgow Rangers are returning to action on the European stage tonight as they prepare to welcome Spanish athletic Bilbao to Ibrox in the Europa League.

Light Blues is aiming to head to Spain for Game 2 next Thursday.

Barry Ferguson hopes Giovanni van Bronkhorst will become the first manager in the 2021/22 campaign to lead the European final this season.

The Scottish boss has won a knockout tie in Europe during his brief tenure as interim head coach and has defeated Fennerbash on a penalty.

Multiple Rangers players got big moves from behind the Europa League under Van Bronkhorst. This was defeated by Eintracht Frankfurt in a penalty in the final, and one of those stars was versatile defender Calvin Bassie.

Why Calvin Bassy was important to European rangers

Nigeria International, currently playing for Fulham in the Premier League, has made 65 appearances in two seasons with the Scottish Giants, but his best form appeared in the Dutch head coach’s 2021/22 campaign.

Fifty of his appearances came in that second season, showing off his impressive versatility across the backline, starting 24 games as centre-back and 23 games as left-back.

The diversity of the left footed stars has made tactical flexibility fully possible for Van Bronkhorst. Because he was able to move forward to launch the attack from the center back.

His out-of-defending as left-back made him a key cog in the Europa League run. This is due to defensive insurance that can be provided to the left flank compared to a natural left back who is not used to playing at center back.

As you can see in the table above, Bassey offered no major threats as offensive power from the left back, but defensively rocky, gaining most of his duels and rarely dribbled by the opposition advance.

These statistics show why it was so important for European Van Bronkhorst to have a centre-back that could play at left back, as they added another layer of defensive power to the backline.

Also, James Tavernier could push further to influence the final third, as the Rangers meant they had Connor Goldson, Leon Balogun, or John Lundstrum.

Bassy also played as a traditional centre-back during that run, with Borna Baricci on the left showing that Van Bronkhorst trusting him in both positions.

His performance for the Rangers that season led to interest from elsewhere and a £19.6 million transfer to Dutch giants Ajax during the summer transfer period.

Ferguson was able to unearth a version of his own version of Bassy in the current Europa League by boldly unleashing Clinton Nusiara for his European debut against tonight’s Athletic Bilbao.

Why Rangers Should Unleash Clinton Nuciara

The Spanish side poses a major threat to the Williams brothers’ sides with Inaki and Nico. This was evident when Nico scored twice, beating Roma 3-1 in the second game of the final 16 tie.

Inaki Williams usually countered the left back on the right flank, creating five goals, five “big chances” and one assist started in the Europa League this semester.

Meanwhile, Nico Williams usually scored four goals on the left, creating two “big chances” and two assists in nine starts.

This suggests that the 30-year-old elder brother could be the biggest threat to deal with, rather than the Spanish International, which won the 22-year-old European Championship.

Thus, Ferguson boldly unleashes Nuciala in his left-back role in the hybrid, and as it is owned by John Sutal and Dujon Sterling, Tavernier can keep pushing from the right-back.

The French defender, who was described as “tall and powerful” by Scout Ruiri Criscuolo, is a central back in trade, but played early in his career.

His natural centre-back qualities will help him deal with the burning threat of Inaki Williams as a left-back.

Nsiala hasn’t appeared in Europe yet, but he was on the bench for a match against Fenerbahce last month and has had experience in the Premier in recent months – playing as centre-back.

As you can see in the table above, the 21-year-old defender held himself in a physical duel and made more defensive interventions than he had previously dribbled on top flights.

He also provided a reliable presence in possession of the ball and completed 90% of his attempted passes.

Instead of the natural left-back Yefte, the Rangers boss now has to boldly bring Nsiala to his team, making tactical adjustments to the system to move with three centre-backs and protect the Williams brothers without sacrificing midfielders or attackers.

Nsiala could be the next version of Ibrox’s Bassey if he can prove quality at both the Gers’ left and centre back on the European stage.