Rangers might have made 15 signings in the summer, but Steven Gerrard would be in a dilemma regarding who might lead the line when they take on Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-final in about a fortnight’s time. Alfredo Morelos picked up a silly yellow card in the quarterfinals and therefore is suspended for this tie, and Kyle Lafferty is cup-tied as he represented Hearts earlier.
That leaves the gaffer with only one out and out striker to choose from that is Umar Sadiq. However, things don’t look bright for the young Nigerian as Gerrard is still not convinced with his performances.
The manager had earlier commented,”It’s a frustration – we lose a player in form(On Morelos’ suspension), and we are going to have to find a way to get the job done without a natural nine unless Sadiq comes to the party and improves an awful lot between now and then.’
As of now, we don’t think the AS Roma loanee is in contention to play in this big cup game. He has failed to make match days squad off late, and we don’t expect Gerrard to thrust him in such a big game from nowhere. So it’s likely that the Gers might have to go in with a different plan and someone who is not a natural striker.
Recently Eros Grezda played for his country Albania in the international break where he led the line for his side. However, it was quite evident that he wasn’t too comfortable in that position. The 23-year-old winger had earlier claimed that he is still struggling with fitness and that is the reason why he has made just two appearances for the Gers so far.
Again it would be a big call for Gerrard, but it does seem like an option at the moment as he made some excellent runs in between the defence lines and worked hard while playing centrally for his country.
It’s clear that Gerrard cannot have that physical striker for this game and someone like Grezda might play in a false nine role where he would often come deep to receive balls and allow other players to make runs in the box. Maybe Ryan Kent can also be tried in that false nine role, but we believe he is still not good enough to find key passes and finish off moves.
As of now, it could be anyone, and our guess is as good as yours. Maybe the manager would put Sadiq in to give him a chance to showcase his worth. But if that doesn’t happen, we think Grezda might be the one to lead the line against Aberdeen in the league cup semi-final.
