Glasgow Rangers dropped further behind their rivals in the race for the Scottish Premiership title after they were held to a 3-3 draw by Hibernian on Sunday.
The Gers dropped a 2-0 and 3-2 lead to walk away from Easter Road with just one point, which has left them 16 points behind Celtic in the top-flight table as it stands.
A hat-trick from Hamza Igamane was not enough to secure all three points for the Ibrox giants, who were let down by their goalkeeper for the third Hibs goal.
Liam Kelly came flying off his line from a corner and got nowhere near the ball, allowing Rocky Bushiri to, essentially, head the ball into an empty net, and the Gers have now been urged to sign a new goalkeeper.
Rangers told to sign Premier League stopper
English Football League pundit Don Goodman has told Rangers to consider a swoop for Wolverhampton Wanderers second-choice goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, who is currently behind Jose Sa in the pecking order under Vitor Pereira.
Jack Butland is currently out injured after suffering ‘significant’ internal bleeding in his leg and the Daily Record reports that it remains to be seen when he will be able to return to action, leaving Kelly as the first-choice for the time being.
Speaking to Plejmo, as relayed by the Daily Record, the pundit said: “Sam Johnstone moving to Rangers could be a move that suits all parties.”
Goodman then added: “Rangers have to consider their options in the transfer window after Jack Butland’s injury. A permanent move could be dependent on the price tag but a loan is likely to come down to whether Sam Johnstone would be interested in a move to Scotland.”
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Johnstone joined the Old Gold for a reported fee of £10m in the summer but has only played seven times in the Premier League this season, and the Gers could offer him an escape to Ibrox to play regular football in Butland’s absence.
The England international could come in as a fantastic short-term addition for Philippe Clement if the club can convince Wolves to loan him to them for the rest of the campaign.
Why Rangers should sign Sam Johnstone
Kelly’s performance against Hibernian was a concern as he struggled to deal with the set-pieces and crosses into the box that the home side consistently delivered.
There was a moment not long before the goal where the Scottish dud came out to attempt to claw away a corner and missed the ball completely, but it did not result in a goal.
|
24/25 Premiership |
Liam Kelly |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
3 |
|
Save success rate |
63% |
|
Pass accuracy |
55% |
|
Aerial duel success rate |
50% |
As you can see in the table above, he has lost 50% of his aerial duels across his three appearances in the Premiership so far this season, which illustrates his struggles dealing with balls into the box.
Johnstone, who was once hailed for an “unbelievable” save by Gary Lineker, has proven himself to be very reliable when it comes to dealing with those situations. He has won 100% of his aerial duels in the current Premier League campaign and has never won under 67% of his aerial battles in a single top-flight season in England.
These statistics suggest that the Wolves shot-stopper, who has also completed 63% of his attempted passes this season, could come in as a huge upgrade on Kelly in that area of the game, helping Rangers to consistently deal with set-pieces more effectively.
Johnstone could also, as shown by their respective pass completion rates, offer more composure on the ball to help Rangers play out from the back under pressure, which is another reason why the Gers should take Goodman’s advice and swoop for him as a big upgrade on Kelly.
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