Giovanni van Bronckhorst effectively put some players in the ‘shop window’ with his team selection tonight, providing a strong indication that departures are on the way.
The starting line-up contained several surprises with Brandon Barker and Jack Simpson, in particular, brought in from the cold. Juninho Bacuna also enjoyed a rare start, in the 4-0 Scottish Cup victory over Stirling Albion.
On the night, youth was given its chance and shone brightly with the emergence of Alex Lowry making his first team debut and Leon King doing fine off the bench as a second half sub. For those young players, the incentive to play and challenge them was obvious but what about the two Englishmen with no real future prospects at the club.
It can only be that interested clubs were looking in, with potential deals to follow based on the reception to the individual performances from Barker and Simpson, respectively.
The wide man, who spent time on loan at League One Oxford United last season was involved enough in the game but din’t quite impress. His pace stands out as a clear attribute but could have made more of an impact on the game. Meanwhile, Simpson was deployed on the left side of the defence – a four at the back out of posession which merged into a three in attack with captain James Tavernier playing through the lines into midfield.
The aftermath of certain appearances will be interesting to watch over the next few days and that includes Bacuna. He was involved and claimed two assists but the cut and thrust at the top of the Premiership doesn’t appear to be the place for the Curacao international. An exit could follow for him this month (loan or permanent), as in the likely cases of Barker and Simpson.