Pundit View: Clement has to make Rangers change now after Jefte 'red flags' emerge

Philippe Clement must put a marker down by starting Neraysho Kasanwirjo ahead of Jefte for Rangers in upcoming games, Mark Guidi has said.

Jefte was guilty as Andy Halliday gave Motherwell the lead before goals from Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami gave the Light Blues a 2-1 win in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden on Sunday (3 November).

Guidi believes the 20-year-old’s defending in the lead-up to Halliday’s goal exposed his “red flags” and insisted Clement must now start Kasanwirjo ahead of him, with Ridvan Yilmaz still sidelined.

“If you’re picking your best XI right now for whatever game, I would start to look at going with [Dujon] Sterling as my right-back and Kasanwirjo as my left-back”, Guidi said on The Go Radio Football Show (4 November).

“I really like the look of Kasanwirjo, I know he is also more obviously more right-sided, but he can fill in.

“Jefte, that was just real red flags how he defended [against Motherwell], I know he is still young and Yilmaz, I don’t know when he’s back.

“But, I would go with Kasanwirjo, just put a marker down.”

Philippe Clement must start Neraysho Kasanwirjo for Rangers

With Rangers now nine points behind Celtic and Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership, there is growing pressure on Clement to turn things around at Ibrox.

His loyalty to the likes of James Tavernier, Dessers and Jefte has not helped his cause and it is high time the manager made some cut-throat decisions.

Yilmaz’s injury may have made life hard for Clement, but there is no reason why he should not start Kasanwirjo ahead of Jefte at this point.

The Dutchman may primarily be a right-back, but he has shown he is comfortable operating on the opposite flank too.

Kasanwirjo, 22, notably played left-back in Rangers’ UEFA Europa League trip to Malmo on 26 September and helped them to a 2-0 victory.

The Feyenoord loanee has since not started in Europe for the Glasgow giants, but that could change when Clement’s side faces Olympiacos in Athens on Thursday (7 November).

In other Rangers news, Steven Gerrard’s stance on a potential Ibrox return has been mooted amid growing pressure on Clement.

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