Rangers have a “strong” star who is becoming the new Bassey

The Glasgow Rangers return to the European stage tonight on the European stage as they prepare to welcome Spanish side Athletic Bilbao to join Ibrox in the Europa League.

The lightweight Blues hopes to give Spain an advantage next Thursday as their goal is to book a spot in the semi-finals of the game.

Barry Ferguson hopes to be the first manager since Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the 2021/22 campaign to lead Gers to the European finals of the season.

The Scottish boss has won the knockout stage in Europe during his short term as interim head coach and beat Finnabach with penalties.

Behind the UEFA Europa League run at Van Bronckhorst, several Rangers players made huge moves behind the Europa League, who was punished in the finals for defeating Eintracht Frankfurt, one of which was versatile defender Calvin Bassey.

Why Calvin Bassey is important to European wanderers

Nigeria International, who currently plays for Fulham in the Premier League, has made 65 appearances in two seasons with the Scottish Giants, but his best form is in the 2021/22 campaign of the Dutch head coach.

His 50 appearances came in the second season, with him starting 24 games with a centre-back and 23 games, as left-back, showing his impressive versatility in the back row.

The versatility of the left-footed star gives Van Bronckhorst enough tactical flexibility as he can move forward from the centre back to the start of the attack – due to the game used as a left back – he can sit down deep from the left back and provide extra cover for both center backs when needed as it defends the center when it defends the center.

His left-back defense makes him an important gear in the Europa League, as he can provide defensive insurance on the left wing compared to natural left-backs who are not used to playing in central defenders.

As you can see in the table above, Bassey doesn’t offer a big threat as a left-back’s attacking power, but is a rock-and-roll defensively winning most of his duels and rarely thrown into the past by opposition strikers.

These statistics show why having a central defender who can play in the left-back is so important to Europe’s Van Bronckhorst, as it adds another layer of defensive intensity to the back row.

It also allowed James Tavernier to push further – with seven goals and two assists recorded in Europe – to have an impact in the final third, as it means that the Wanderers were then followed by Connor Goldson, Leon Balogun or John Lundstram, while Bassey basically formed three-thirds to defend against the transition.

Bassey also played the traditional centre-back during that run, while Borna Barisic was on his left, indicating that Van Bronckhorst trusted him in both positions.

He attracted interest elsewhere in his performance for the Rangers that season and transferred £19.6 million to Dutch giant Ajax in the summer transfer window, a substantial profit they paid for Leicester City for their services.

Now Ferguson can discover his own version of Bassey in the current Europa League, which is a European debut made by a bold release of Clinton Nsiala, his European debut tonight.

Why should the ranger release Clinton nsiala

The Spanish side posed a huge threat on the side with the Williams brothers, Inaki and Nico, which was evident in their 3-1 win over Roma in the second leg of the last 16 games, as Nico scored twice.

Inaki Williams usually plays on the right wing, against the left back, and generates five goals, five “big chances” and has earned nine assists in the Europa League this semester.

Meanwhile, Nico Williams usually lined up on the left, scoring four goals, creating two “big opportunities” and recording two assists in his nine games.

This suggests that the 30-year-old elder, brother, may be the biggest threat to Rangers’ response, rather than the 22-year-old European champion Spanish International Champion.

So Ferguson had to boldly release NISALA in a mixed left-back role, which would give him two-thirds of the possession with John Souttar and Dujon Sterling, which allowed him to take two-thirds, allowing Tavernier to start at right-back.

The French defender was described by Boy Scout Ruairi Criscuolo as “tall and powerful” and had earlier played centre-back at left-back, suggesting that he could offer versatility for light blue positions in both positions.

His natural centre-back qualities can help him cope with the threat of Inaki Williams who caught fire in the Europa League.

Nsiala has not yet made a appearance in Europe, but has been on the bench against Fenerbahce last month and has had some experience in the Premier League in recent months – as a centre-back.

As you can see in the table above, the 21-year-old defender held his own defensive intervention in a physical duel, rather than a dribbling era in top-tier games.

He also provided reliable retained balls, completing 90% attempted passes, which shows that Ferguson can rely on him to stay solid on the left back.

Now, the Wanderer boss must boldly bring Nsiala to the team in place of natural left-back jefte in order to make tactical adjustments to the system to make a transition to the Williams Brothers without sacrificing any midfielder or attacker.

If Nsiala can prove his quality at left-back and centre-back on the European stage, it can be the next version of Bassey of Ibrox.