There is no doubt that Scott Arfield and Ryan Jack were missed against Celtic, their physicality and intensity was a miss until Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo started to dominate possession and Steven Gerrard will be wanting them back as soon as possible with away trips to Aberdeen and Hibernian on the horizon.
He does though have one option available other than dipping into the transfer market, a player with man of the match displays under his belt already and he wouldn’t cost a penny – Rangers own Stephen Kelly.
The Scotland youth cap is currently excelling at struggling Ross County and if he can produce such displays for a team that doesn’t control the ball for large quantities of matches then he should be given the chance to prove that he can contribute in a team that does, as compensation for recalling him early I’m sure the Staggies would take either Jordan Jones or Greg Stewart to bolster their attack.
Kelly loves a pass – it is probably his strongest asset – his first thought is always to look forwards, particularly in transition, and in terms of style, he is more similar to Steven Davis than any of the other midfielders currently at Steven Gerrard’s disposal.
Can Kelly deputise for Jack and Arfield?
Yes
No - sign a short-term loan to cover
There is no better time to blood youngsters than when a team is winning, you only need to look across the city to when Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Kieran Tierney and Ryan Christie were all given extended runs in the first-team with Celtic, that we are allowed five substitutes this season should also be considered.
Kelly – highly rated by the club – can be trusted to compete in the Premiership, he has proven that over the season so far, by giving him 20-30 minutes with more experienced and better technical players alongside him we will be able to judge whether or not he has the potential to do it in a Light Blues shirt – save the transfer funds for somewhere it might be needed, the solution to Jack and Arfield’s injuries is just a phone-call away.