Rangers striker Cedric Itten won’t be joining the likes of Nathan Patterson, Glen Kamara and Fil Heldander in representing his country at this summer’s Euro 2020 finals – and Switzerland boss Vladimir Petkovic has opened up on the reasons why.
After his move to Ibrox last summer, Itten has struggled for regular games under Steven Gerrard, and has seen his international opportunities limited as a result.
Petkovic confessed that he wants to give younger players a chance to experience tournament football and get to work with some of them for the first time – meaning no place in the 26-man squad for the Rangers star.
“I already know Cedric Itten, but unfortunately for him, he didn’t play that much for Rangers this season,” Petkovic said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
Andi Zeqiri did well for his team and the same goes for Dan Ndoye. I don’t know them well so this is a chance for me to get to work with them.
“I wanted to give new players the chance to experience tournament football.
“I gave Denis Zakari and Nico Elvedi a similar chance before the Euro 2016 tournament and both are now established in my squad. So young players are the future.”
Itten scored six times this season and, despite making 38 appearances, only managed to play the equivalent of 13 full games over the campaign.
It is no surprise then that he hasn’t made the Euros squad and the Swiss striker will really need to up his game next season if he is to have a more important role for Steven Gerrard’s side.
While there will be plenty of chances for him to stake his claim for a Rangers jersey over the coming weeks, he simply can’t afford another season like the one just finished if he is to make a success of his time in Scotland.
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