Todd Cantwell arrived at Rangers with fans not entirely sure what they were going to get when he first stepped onto the Ibrox pitch. We knew how highly he had been rated a couple of seasons ago but seemed to have lost his way. It was always going to go one way or the other.
As it is, the 24-year old has made a good first impression. His comfort in possession, work rate and vision has seen him add extra creativity to the Rangers attack. He has been heavily involved in two goals so far in the two games he started.
Speaking to The Daily Record, former Ger and Norwich City midfielder Graham Dorrans, knows Cantwell from his time down south and, after a recent cryptic social media post, reckons that there could be a fire in the belly of the midfielder to prove his old club wrong:
“I don’t know the ins and outs of what happened at Norwich but there was obviously something going on because I’ve seen the posts he put out. if a situation has happened, or if they’ve told him he’s surplus to requirements, it can hurt your ego a little bit. He might have the bit between his teeth to come up here and go: ‘I’ll show them. I’ll show how good I am.’
“He might think he’s got a point to prove or maybe want to prove people wrong at Norwich. ‘That can only be beneficial to Rangers.
“He’s probably a player who needs that, to be honest, he was a nice kid, more than willing to learn and get better. If he has that little bit of anger about him and that little bit between his teeth, I think it will help him get better and be beneficial to both him and Rangers.”
What has surprised me most is how sharp Cantwell has been for someone who has hardly played in the last few months. He has built up an instant raport with Malik Tillman and has linked well with Alfredo Morelos. We finally have a midfielder willing to play aggressive passes through the lines rather than square balls out to the full-backs.
Against Ross County, we saw his dribbling skills and composure to pick out Tillman, sometimes our decision making can let us down but the early signs are that Cantwell has exactly the sort of composure we have been missing – Norwich City’s loss would appear, so far, to be our gain.