Glasgow Rangers underwent squad surgery during the recent summer transfer window, as a number of players moved in and out of Ibrox before the deadline.
Philippe Clement and Nils Koppen were clearly eager to freshen up the team and did exactly that by allowing the likes of Ryan Jack, Connor Goldson, Borna Barisic, Todd Cantwell, and John Lundstram, among others to move on.
The Gers duo also brought in the likes of Vaclav Cerny, Nedim Bajrami, Robin Propper, Clinton Nsiala, Hamza Igamane, and Connor Barron, among others, to bolster their options across the pitch.
One move that could lead to a long-term improvement to the team was the decision to send defender Johnly Yfeko out on loan, as he could develop into a first-team option for Rangers as an upgrade on John Souttar.
John Souttar's struggles this season
The Scotland international has endured a difficult start to the 2024/25 campaign, with his latest performance against Celtic perfectly illustrating his issues on the pitch.
Souttar played the full 90 minutes as Rangers were convincingly beaten 3-0 by their rivals in the first Old Firm clash of the season, and he lost all four of his ground duels, whilst being dribbled past twice, at Parkhead.
As you can see in the clip above, the former Hearts star was sucked away from the middle of the box by Kyogo Furuhashi's run and that opened up the space for Daizen Maeda to score, whilst the centre-back also failed to make the block in front of Jack Butland from the shot.
In his four Premiership appearances so far this season, Souttar has lost a whopping 87% of his ground duels and is yet to make a single tackle or interception to help his team out defensively.
Why Johnly Yfeko could be an upgrade
Yfeko's performances whilst on loan with Exeter so far this season suggest that the potential is there for him to develop into an upgrade on the Scottish dud.
It must be caveated by the fact that he is playing in the third tier in England, in League One, but if he can maintain his current level of performance and translate it to the Scottish Premiership then Clement could have a huge asset at his disposal.
Appearances
4
4
Tackles + interceptions per game
0
3.6
Ball recoveries per game
2.8
3.5
Ground duel success rate
13%
44%
Aerial duel success rate
64%
91%
As you can see in the table above, the 6 foot 2 loanee has significantly outperformed Souttar as an out-and-out defender, by winning possession back far more frequently and winning a much higher percentage of his physical contests.
Yfeko, who was described as "physical" by manager Gary Caldwell, has won a whopping 24 duels in four League One outings, compared to the Rangers dud's 17 duels won.
The 21-year-old starlet, who has made 1.3 key passes per game, has been deployed as a left-sided centre-back by Exeter and could come in to replace Souttar, which would then allow Propper, who is comfortable on either foot, to play on the right.
Rangers could forget Ezodie by signing "unbelievable" free agent at Ibrox
The Light Blues missed out on the Premier League attacker on deadline day.
ByDan EmerySep 3, 2024
If Yfeko can maintain that level of performance and adapt to the Premiership with Rangers, he could be far more dominant and secure at the heart of the defence for Clement than Souttar, hence why the manager may already have an upgrade on him at the club.