As some of you may well have noticed, us here at the Inside Ibrox have been doing match ratings for the Rangers pre-season match-ups.
We got back going on the site just after the Newcastle unfortunately, so we weren’t able to rate the performers on that night, but we were able to give our detailed player-by-players on all 27 members of the squad who featured against Hamburg, Olympiacos and Hoffenheim.
Now, we have taken the average ratings from these three matches to produce our list of top performers heading into the new season.
Some didn’t set the world alight at all, like the maligned Borna Barisic with his 4 out of 10 ratings from three matches featured in – granted two of them were as subs, whilst the likes of Abdallah Sima who featured heavily in each match mustered a middle of the read 5.66 rating.
However, there were four players who stood out more than others in these games.
4. Nico Raskin – 6.33/10 average rating
The little Belgian really is a joy to watch, and seems to be improving constantly, even when considering the levels he got to late last season.
Raskin’s ability to pick the ball up deep from his defenders and make something happen that isn’t just a square pass is a joy to behold, and his bite and ball carrying skills make him quite the all-round Number 6.
This rating would have easily been higher if the Newcastle game was included, where he was easily man of the match.
3. Jack Butland – 6.5/10 average rating
Despite not featuring in the defeat to Olympiacos, Butland already looks like he has all the tools to succeed at Ibrox.
Whilst having virtually nothing to do against Hamburg, his ability to sweep up and control his box was refreshing, but he was forced into showing his shot-stopping abilities to full effect against Hoffenheim, including a smart save with his feet in the first half – something that is vital as a Rangers keeper where you will have large spells with nothing to do.
2. John Souttar – 7/10 average rating
If you’d have told me six months ago that John Souttar would be un-droppable in a Rangers side, I’d have laughed my head off.
But the big Scot has picked up where he left off at the end of last season, with imperious displays in his two outings against Hamburg and Olympiacos.
The first half in particular against the Greeks he met everything that he sent into the box, which is something our defences have lacked in prior years.
1. Sam Lammers – 7.33/10 average rating
Easily the pick of players this pre-season, the new signing from Atalanta looks like he could cause quite the headaches for opposition managers this season.
Lammers has shown that he is more than just a lanky striker, with his close control around the box unbefitting of players that tall.
And despite apparently being goal shy in recent seasons, he managed to bag himself two goals in the four games against Newcastle and Hoffenheim.