It would be fair to say that Juninho Bacuna has not excelled in his time at Ibrox to date.
Last August, the Dutch-born Curacao international signed a two-year deal, making the move to Glasgow from Huddersfield. In what was a sign of a limited budget on offer to Steven Gerrard following Champions League failure, he arrived for a knock-down fee following the Bosman acquisitions of John Lundstram and Fashion Sakala.
Now, it is clear that ‘there is something about him’ and ‘he has a pass in him’ but are Rangers getting enough to justify his place in the squad?
Last Friday, Bacuna evidenced his qualities in the final third with two assists. Firstly sweeping the ball sideways for Alex Lowry to dispatch then for the final goal of the game, he put the ball through a tight channel to put Sakala clear and the Zambian took care of the rest.
Beyond this, Bacuna meets the definition of a player with a languid style. Yes, against the likes of Stirling Albion there will be time and space as well as more chances but at the cut and thrust of must-win Premiership games, there isn’t enough evidence that he can be trusted.
It appeared clear at times during the first half on Friday that Giovanni van Bronckhorst was wanting more from the former Groningen man and overall, he was fine without standing out against League 2 opponents.
At present, the likes of Scott Arfield, Steven Davis and Ryan Jack are missing, as well as Joe Aribo’s international duty. It was this shortage in the middle that brought the game time for Bacuna – as well as players such as Brandon Barker and Jack Simpson getting time in the shop window, seemingly to aid their chances of finding moves this month.
There is a chance that Bacuna could join them depending on interest and any further incomings this week.
A middle to front player with real quality and a ruthless streak would be welcomed with open arms just now at Rangers, that player is not going to be Juninho Bacuna.