Josh Windass joined Glasgow Rangers from Accrington Stanley in the summer.
Glasgow Rangers summer signing Josh Windass has divided opinion since his arrival at Ibrox. Accused of drifting in and out of games, some have also questioned the young midfielders stamina and fitness. It may surprise Rangers fans then that Windass has not just some of the most impressive stats of any Gers player, but of any Scottish Premiership player this season.
The 22-year-old son of former Hull City and Aberdeen ace Dean Windass joined Rangers in the summer on a free transfer from Accrington Stanley. The midfielder started brightly in Glasgow, impressing supporters with his direct running, willingness to take a man on and spacial awareness, but his progress has been stunted by a couple of niggling injuries.
Now back in action and back in the first team, Windass will be looking to kick on. HITC Sport has taken a look at the stats behind Windass’ time at Rangers so far, and why some of the criticism of him from Gers fans has perhaps been a little unfair.
Windass in action for Rangers in the Old Firm
The most assists in the Scottish Premiership per minute, the second most passes into the final third in the Scottish Premiership per minute and the third most key passes in the Scottish Premiership per minute. Those are the stats which suggest that even in spite of a faltering start to life in Glasgow, Josh Windass is already a key man at Ibrox.
That is not to say that claims that he can go missing for long stretches, can be poor defensively and is not fully fit are untrue, for the most part, they have a great deal of substance, but for a player of 22 who has just stepped up from England’s fourth tier to a giant of a football club, he deserves far more concessions than he has been afforded by some.
One of the reasons for Windass’ struggles may be that he has generally been deployed in a midfield three, a deeper role with greater defensive responsibility than the role he was used to playing at Accrington Stanley.
A change of system could bring out the best in Windass
A system change allowing Windass to play as a number 10 or even on either side of a front three would most likely prove beneficial, and see the youngster flourish further. Such a role would give him less defensive duties, greater creative license and make his tendency to drift in and out of games less damaging for Mark Warburton’s side.
Windass is not yet a player capable of dominating games from the centre of midfield in Scotland’s top flight, and understandably so. He is a young man who has taken a big step up, and one must also acknowledge that he is not playing in the finest of Rangers midfields.
The fact that the 22-year-old leads Rangers assist charts, with the next two highest assisters (Lee Wallace and Kenny Miller) having played roughly twice as many minutes as the Englishman, speaks volumes.
Windass celebrates alongside Kenny Miller
Whilst it is a poor indictment of the rest of the Gers team that Windass has only had to record 4 assists to be the club’s leader in that department, he is quite clearly the greatest creative force in the Rangers squad right now, and one of the best in the Scottish Premiership.
With better midfield players around him, Windass has the potential to develop into a really useful player at Ibrox. He has great awareness, a turn of pace and is never afraid to take a man on and beat them, a trait which is become increasingly rare within the modern game.
One area of Windass’ game which he will be desperate to improve upon is his goal scoring. The midfielder scored 17 goals in 35 games last season, but has just 1 goal in 15 appearances so far this term. Clearly he has had to contend with a step-up in class, but Windass will still be targeting a much-improved goal scoring record in the second half of the season.
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