Glasgow Rangers finally announced their new manager over the weekend, with Philippe Clement deemed the best candidate to replace the recently sacked Michael Beale in the Ibrox hot seat.
The Belgian faces a tough task in charge of the Light Blues as they currently trail Celtic by seven points in the Premiership after just eight matches, and he will need to hit the ground running.
Beale struggled to get much of a tune out of the current crop of players, failing to win a trophy during his ten months in charge of the club and Clement may shake things up.
Indeed, the likes of James Tavernier, Borna Barisic and Connor Goldson have formed three-quarters of the Gers backline since the summer of 2018, and they have largely underperformed this term, particularly Barisic.
How has Borna Barisic performed this season?
The Croatian tends to get forward often during matches, yet this ensures he neglects his defensive duties on a regular basis which has been the case during the 2023/24 league season so far.
Across six matches, he has lost possession a staggering 16.5 times per game while making 1.2 interceptions and 1.8 clearances, ranking him sixth in the squad for both metrics.
Usually impressive at dribbling down the left flank, Barisic ranks in a lowly 16th spot this term, having succeeded with just 0.3 successful dribbles per match and Clement must try something new on the left side of defence.
Ridvan Yilmaz has deputised well, but youngster Robbie Fraser could be a worthwhile alternative in the coming months.
How good is Robbie Fraser?
The 20-year-old is already the captain of the B team and has impressed during his stint in the academy.
Across 40 appearances in all competitions, he scored twice while registering seven assists, and it is evident he offers the same sort of attacking threat that Barisic provides.
Indeed, the youngster even enjoys the odd free kick and was lauded by journalist Jordan Campbell for a “superb” effort during a match in the summer of 2022.
The 5 foot 11 sensation has made a grand total of 52 appearances for the B team and while he has made the matchday squad for the senior side on numerous occasions, including against Aris Limassol a few weeks ago, he has yet to make his debut for the Gers.
With Barisic in the last year of his current contract and Yilmaz struggling to get to grips with what it takes to succeed while wearing the jersey, Fraser could be an ideal alternative in the left-back role, especially if he continues to impress over the coming months.
Clement will likely offer a fresh start to the majority of players in the first-team squad, yet some have simply remained at the club for far too long and this needs to be changed sooner rather than later.
Although the Gers still have a chance across three competitions this season, it would be interesting to see if Clement offers any opportunities to some promising youngsters and if so, Fraser should be top of the list.
