Former Rangers defender Jon Flanagan has been handed a fresh start at Charleroi with his new coach delighted to have added to the Belgium club’s squad, as reported by Le Soir.
It is six years since Flanagan was flying down the flanks for a Liverpool side dreaming of Premier League glory under Brendan Rodgers.
At the time, Brazilian legend Cafu felt the Scouser had “everything to become one of the best full-backs in the world” (FourFourTwo, October 2015 edition).
Following a series of injuries that derailed his rapid rise, however, things didn’t work out like that.
And, after two underwhelming seasons as a back-up option at Rangers, the 27-year-old is now looking to get his once promising career back on track at a club that finished third in the Belgian top flight last term.
“He is in good shape and we will take advantage of the (international) break to move him forward,” Charleroi coach Karim Belhocine explains.
“He is a good all-rounder.”
Unfortunately for Flanagan, he never really got going under his former Liverpool captain at Ibrox.
Steven Gerrard often used the right-footed defender as a stop-gap on the left-hand side whenever Borna Barisic was unavailable. As you might expect given Flanagan is more comfortable on the opposite flank, he struggled both offensively and defensively in an unfamiliar position.
Calvin Bassey, the summer signing from Leicester, already looks a far better fit as Rangers’ second-choice left-back.
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