Jordan Rossiter. In truth, not a lot of the Rangers fanbase actually knew who this lad was 48 hours ago, but since interest in the young deep-lying playmaker stepped up, his name has catapulted into the limelight.
Dubbed the ‘next Steven Gerrard’ this 19 year old precocious talent has been a Liverpool player his entire young career, but failed to make the expected breakthrough this season with injuries curtailing his progress.
In all fairness, dubbing a young lad the next legend of the game is extremely irresponsible, and very unfair. After all, Gedion Zelalem was labelled as a borderline hybrid of Xavi and Iniesta, and while he did not outright fail north of the border, he has got an astounding distance to go before he is in that kind of category.
Ergo Rossiter should be judged on the player he is, rather than the players he stylistically resembles, but I am going to confound this statement with hypocrisy in abundance by conceding his similarities, not to Gerrard, but to one Barry Ferguson.
The deep-lying vision, the defensive responsibility, the box-to-box roaming and the on-ball composure as well as that rare ability to put his foot on the ball and slow the game down – the Italians call this player a ‘regista’ – or an orchestrator of the game. And that is what Ferguson was, and what Rossiter appears to be:
He is a highly-sought player and has been reported by media outlets as arriving in Glasgow today for negotiations, and is proven at youth international level with his caps hitting double figures.
Whether he is the ‘type’ of player Rangers desperately need is probably irrelevant – sure, he is no DM, CB or number 9, but he is an outstanding prospect who has tripped up slightly at Anfield and Rangers look set to benefit from this at a reported outlay of only £250,000.
And when it comes to rejected gems south of the border, no one helps them realise their potential better than Mark Warburton. The impact Rossiter could have under the Magic Hat is infinite.
If this is the kind of quality Rangers are in the market for next season, the SPL title looks like a genuinely attainable trophy.
Time will tell if he is secured, but the path Rangers are on is the right one. Impressive stuff.
If he achieves half of what Barry Ferguson did in a blue shirt, he'll be a legend. I'm not sure comparisons with Ferguson are fair on the lad, but even from that one clip you can see the similarities. Fingers crossed we can get this over the line. In Warburton we trust.
A good signing
Nice read bud. Totally agree on the BF comparison. Seen highlights of him in a U21 game against Man U he was 16 and never looked out of place. But the striking thing was the resemblence to Barry jumped out at me. This is an extremely exciting bit of business if we get it done.Which does look like to be the case.
Let's be frank here,or whoever you want to be,if he was top notch he wouldn't be coming here.You Tube clips can make Shuggie Maglumfit look like Messi but I never seen enough to really impress me.Jordan Thompson looked a better player and look what happened there.I'll be glad if proven wrong though.
Great signing if we get it done. My cousin stays in Liverpool. Spoke to him last night. He's gutted he's leaving and he said we are getting a gem. I am excited about this young star. Well done Frank McParland who no doubt had a major part in getting him hear. Want it confirmed now. Can't wait
Normally I dont feel the need to correct you on your articles but likening this player to Ferguson I feel is a bit off the mark. A Regista is DMC role, he sits behind two playmakers who push forward and is like a midfield sweeper. Baz had a more attacking element in his game than Rossiter who strikes me as a more defensive midfielder, hence why compares with Gerrard frequently. That aside it is a outstanding bit of business if we pull it off, the player in world football I recognise as a Regista is Pirlo. Not stating he is the next Pirlo bit more that is the role I see him playing which is exactly what Halliday tried to do last season but was out of position.
Dont kno much bout the lad but goin on wat i c in the vid link he plays xcactly like xavi alonso does all the dirty graftin in midfield n starts of the moves going forward lks very calm n assured on the ball look forward to seeing this lad playin for the famous. WATP.
Great young guy, have watched him play many times as my husband is a Liverpool supporter, He said we are going to get a real good player who's going to be great,, he's sorry to see him leave Liverpool
Get him signed up McParland.
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