At the start of December, following the appointment of Mick Beale as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s replacement in the Ibrox dugout, former Rangers striker Kris Boyd made a rather damning point.
Have the Glasgow giants really had a top-quality right-winger since Portuguese playmaker Daniel Candeias bid farewell to life in Scotland’s second city three-and-a-half years ago?
“While I’m sure Beale will bring in an additional striker, there are other areas he has to strengthen. The right-wing position has been an issue since Daniel Candeias left,” Boyd tells the Scottish Sun.
“It has been a blind spot for the club. And one that must be urgently sorted out.”
Scott Wright and Fashion Sakala have had their moments. Rabbi Matondo could still come good. Ianis Hagi and Joe Aribo made their mark too, even if both players are probably better suited to a more central role.
But Boyd’s point still stands. No one in the last three-and-a-half seasons has managed to emulate Candeias’ influence on the right-hand side. Though it’s a point Boyd might not have needed to make had Rangers succeeded in bringing Manuel Benson to Ibrox during the summer of 2020, around 12 months after Candeias’ departure (Voetbal Nieuws).
Rangers could have replaced Ibrox favourite Daniel Candeias with Burnley’s Manuel Benson
Benson and Candieas may play in the same position, but that’s about where the similarities end. Candeias was a right-footed, right-winger; a Beckham-esque, old-school, touchline-treading widemen. Bend it like Beckham? Try Curve it like Candeias.
Benson, however, is something different. Snake-hipped and silky; Benson makes a habit of cutting inside onto his favoured left foot one minute before changing direction in the blink of an eye. Victor Lindelof found out the hard way just how devastatingly unpredictable Benson can be in one-v-one situations during Manchester United’s 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Burnley on Wednesday night.
Benson, since joining Vincent Kompany’s Championship league-leaders for a bargain £3.5 million in August, has eight goals and five assists in 23 games. If anyone typifies Burnley’s evolution under the Manchester City legend, it’s the bendy-legged Belgian.
“He’s been brilliant,” EFL expert Sam Parkin tells ITV (17th December, 9pm); Benson scoring both goals in Burnley’s comeback victory over Middlesbrough.
“Benson throughout had so much freedom on the right-hand side. He was electric.”
‘Electrifying’ feels like a fitting description of arguably the most exciting talent in England’s second-tier. And with the right-wing spot once again looking like a weak-link in Beale’s roster, the former Belgium U21 international is most certainly Burnley’s gain and Rangers’ loss.
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