Major defensive change mooted for Rangers v Aberdeen

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Major defensive change mooted for Rangers v Aberdeen
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 03: Malick Fofana of Olympique Lyonnais is challenged by Neraysho Kasanwirjo of Rangers FC during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 League Phase MD2 match between Rangers FC and Olympique Lyonnais at Ibrox Stadium on October 03, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Rangers are to face Aberdeen in a do or die crunch clash on Wednesday, in what may be a Judgement Day for Philippe Clement.

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And he may ready to put Neraysho Kasanwirjo in the heart of defence against Aberdeen on Wednesday, with the on-loan Feyenoord defender a more than capable CB.

Rangers do not have their defensive troubles to seek, with Robin Propper not yet fitting in, Leon Balogun aging and unable to play 3 matches in a week, and John Souttar unlikely to start this one through fitness, manager Philippe Clement may well have to put the younger Dutchman in the middle as a starter at Pittodrie.

Rangers’ usual options centrally are Souttar, Balogun and Propper, but as Propper is struggling for form and the other two are fitness concerns, Kasanwirjo may be ‘coming to the rescue’ for Clement’s men.

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The Belgian won’t know till tomorrow who is definitively actually available in his rearguard for selection, so it’s still a bit of an unknown quantity at this point, and as we illustrated, Propper is fit but struggling for adapting to the Scottish game.

Is Kasan the man to start?

He’s had a strong start to his Rangers career, in truth – he has only been fleeting, but Clement actually dropped James Tavernier to accommodate Kasa v St Mirren, and the Dutchman did himself no harm with his performance.

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This means that Clement has decisions to make at the back, and that includes the captain.

Will Kasan take up Tavernier’s RB berth? Will he be central?

It does seem inevitable that Kasan will be in the XI, but the question is where.

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Clement has confirmed that Souttar is fit ‘enough’ but he won’t last 90 minutes, so it’s a toss up if he starts.

But Kasan is definitely fit. And we’d be surprised if he isn’t in the named XI.

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