Russell Martin is the 20th permanent manager in Rangers’ 153-year history, but he’s got plenty of work to do if he’s going to be a success at Ibrox.
Last season, the Gers finished second in the Premiership, a whopping 17 points adrift of the champions, and ended the campaign trophyless, most notably dumped out of the Scottish Cup having suffered their first-ever home defeat against lower-league opposition in the competition.
So, if the Light Blues are going to be ready for the start of Champions League qualifying next month, Martin is going to want to be very busy in the transfer market, so could he be reunited with a player for the third time?
Rangers targeting a new centre-back
According to a report by EFL Analysis, Rangers remain interested in signing centre-back Harry Darling, labelling this potential move to Glasgow a ‘very intriguing prospect’, with Norwich City also pursuing the defender.
The 25-year-old is a free agent, having left Swansea City, and has twice played for Martin before, first at Milton Keynes, before the new Rangers manager signed Darling three years ago when he was in charge of the Swans.
Recently-appointed Norwich boss Liam Manning, who replaced Martin at MK, described Darling as “outstanding”, adding that he is more than “capable” of playing at a high level, so could he turn down the Canaries and reunite with Martin once more?
How Harry Darling compares to Robin Pröpper
According to reports in the Netherlands, Robin Pröpper is set to re-join FC Twente this summer, with the Eredivisie side willing to pay around half of the £2.5m they received for the centre-back a mere 12 months ago.
The Dutchman made 43 appearances during his first, and potentially only, season at Rangers, scoring during victories over both Celtic and Dundee United, but more notably getting sent off just 13 minutes into the Europa League quarter-final against Athletic Club.
Pröpper himself admitted that “maybe I underestimated” the level of competition one faces in the Scottish Premiership, with his performances often widely criticised, including by Aaron Nijjar of Football Insider, who noted that his ‘struggles continued’ following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in December.
Meantime, Ewan Paton of the Rangers Review believes that Scottish football is ‘too quick and physical for his capabilities’, suggesting that supporters would be pleased to see the back of him.
But, would Darling be an upgrade? Let’s assess the pair’s respective statistics to answer that question.
Darling vs Pröpper 2024/25 comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistics | Darling | Pröpper |
Appearances | 39 | 43 |
Minutes | 3,337 | 3,210 |
% of dribblers tackled | 56.5% | 55.6% |
Tackles per 90 | 0.8 | 1.2 |
Interceptions per 90 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
Clearances per 90 | 5 | 3.8 |
Ball recoveries | 152 | 36 |
% of aerial duels won | 64.2% | 54% |
% of ground duels won | 66% | 53.25% |
Average Sofascore Rating | 7.23 | 6.69 |
Stats via Transfermarkt, FBref, Sofascore | ||
As the table outlines, pretty much across the board, Darling comes out on top for the vast majority of defensive metrics included.
Worth considering that also, according to Global Football Rankings, the EFL Championship is the 11th strongest division in the world, with the Scottish Premiership down in 43rd, albeit 11 of Pröpper’s outings did come in either Champions League qualifying or the Europa League.
Writer Kai Watson believes that Darling would be ‘perfect’ for Martin’s system, labelling him ‘very comfortable on the ball and a brilliant passer’, underlining that this deal is a no-brainer for Rangers, especially considering he’s a free agent.
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