Rangers could drop Wright by unleashing "exciting" 27k-p/w star

Glasgow Rangers endured a frustrating start to their 2024/25 campaign with a 0-0 draw on the opening day of the Scottish Premiership season on Saturday.

The Light Blues finished second in the division last term and are now already two points behind their Glasgow rivals after matchday one in the league.

Philippe Clement must now turn his attention to the Champions League, though, as his side face Dynamo Kviv away from Ibrox in the first leg of their qualifying clash this evening.

The Belgian head coach will be looking for a positive result to take back to Glasgow next week in order to give his team the best possible chance of progressing through to the next round of qualifying.

After the 0-0 draw with Hearts on Saturday, Clement may need to make some alterations to his starting XI in order to make sure that his side carries enough of an attacking threat to cause Dynamo problems throughout the game tonight.

With this in mind, Scottish winger Scott Wright is one player who must be ruthlessly ditched from the starting XI after his display against the Jam Tarts.

Scott Wright’s performance against Hearts

The 26-year-old dud was selected to start on the right side of the attack, with Tom Lawrence in the middle and Oscar Cortes on the left behind Cyriel Dessers as the lone striker.

This was a slight surprise after a summer of speculation linking the former Aberdeen man with a move away from Ibrox. Sheffield Wednesday have reportedly been in talks to secure a deal to take him to the English Championship before the end of the window.

It was a gigantic opportunity for Wright to show Clement, and the fans, that the club need to keep him around, rather than offloading him to the Owls before the deadline.

Unfortunately, the right-footed flop once again proved why Rangers should be looking to move him on as he produced an underwhelming performance.

The Light Blues, of course, were held to a goalless draw by the Jam Tarts and Wright’s struggles in the final third in his 60 minutes on the pitch contributed to that.

As you can see in the table above, the Scottish dud made no impact at the top end of the pitch, with no goals, no assists, no chances created, no dribbles completed, and no crosses completed.

Sheffield Wednesday’s summer target was also a liability out of possession by losing five of his seven physical duels on Saturday, on the deck and in the air combined, which shows that opposition players found it far too easy to get the better of him.

The potentially frustrating part of his performance for supporters was that it was predictable based on his displays for the club over the last two seasons.

Scott Wright’s attacking struggles for Rangers

To say that the 26-year-old winger has struggled for form in the Premiership over the last couple of years would be a bit of an understatement.

In the 2023/24 campaign, Wright was handed 23 appearances in the top-flight by Michael Beale and Clement combined but only contributed with two goals.

He created one ‘big chance’ for his teammates and produced less than one key pass per game (0.6), which led to zero assists in the division for the Gers.

The Rangers flop was also dominated by opposition players in physical battles as he lost 60% of his duels on the air and on the deck combined.

As you can see in the table above, Wright struggled badly in the final third throughout the 2022/23 Premiership campaign, with zero goals and one assist in 23 outings.

This means that the Scottish lightweight has produced two goals and one assist in his last 46 league games for Rangers, which shows that he rarely makes an impact for the club on the pitch.

Wright does not create ‘big chances’ or make key passes on a regular basis for his teammates and does not offer a regular goal threat, which is why Clement must brutally ditch him for this big Champions League clash.

Who Rangers must unleash ahead of Scott Wright

The Belgian boss must boldly unleash Wolfsburg loanee Vaclav Cerny from the start as he has the potential to offer significantly more from a right wing position.

Rangers recently swooped to land the 26-year-old star on a season-long loan deal from the Bundesliga outfit and he made his debut off the bench against Hearts.

Last season, Cerny had a difficult year and, yet, still managed to outperform Wright whilst playing at a higher level. He racked up four goals and one ‘big chance’ created in 22 Bundesliga appearances for Wolfsburg.

The Czechia international, who was hailed as an “exciting” player by Clement, had joined the German side from FC Twente after his outstanding performances in the Netherlands during the 2022/23 campaign.

As you can see in the table above, the impressive forward showcased his ability to score and assist goals on a regular basis from a right wing position.

The £27k-per-week ace also ranked within the top 5% of Eredivisie attacking midfielders and wingers for shot-creating actions per 90 (5.77) and assists per 90 (0.41), which speaks to the quality of his creativity.

Overall, Cerny has plundered 17 goals and 11 assists in 54 league appearances for Wolfsburg and Twente combined over the last two seasons, compared to Wright’s two goals and one assist in 46 Premiership games for Rangers.

These statistics suggest that the potential is there for the Gers loanee to come into the team against Dynamo Kviv tonight and offer significantly more quality at the top end of the pitch, which is why Clement must unleash him from the start over the Scottish dud.