'What do you mean?' - Pundit baffled by what Clement said about Rangers man this season

Alan Hutton has been left baffled by what Philippe Clement said about Dujon Sterling recently at Rangers this season.

The defender has struggled to hold down a consistent place in the Gers’ starting XI so far this season and has had to settle for just two Premiership starts, despite penning a new contract at Ibrox.

In the Light Blues’ clash with Malmo, Clement opted to start Neraysho Kasanwirjo at left-back ahead of Sterling and Hutton was shocked when the Gers boss claimed the Dutchman was fitter than his English counterpart.

Speaking on The Scottish Football Social Club (7 October, 32:20) he said: “Recently, it was interesting that the manager actually came out and said he picked Kasanwirjo over him because he was fitter.

“What do you mean fitter? I was thinking has he got a knock or what? Or is he in training not up to speed, because last season with his performances, you’re saying he has to play somewhere?

“When he’s come on, I don’t think he’s been the same as he was last season. There’s definitely something there that’s missing this season and I don’t know what.”

Is Dujon Sterling injured at Rangers amid Ibrox speculation?

While it has been well-documented that Sterling had one or two fitness and injury issues during pre-season, the Englishman has seemingly been available for all of, if not most of Rangers games this term.

The former Chelsea man has been a regular fixture on the bench when he hasn’t been included in the starting XI and while Clement could well be managing his minutes, it doesn’t feel as though there should be much reason to do so.

On the face of it, Kasanwirjo simply should not be fitter than Sterling. The Dutchman didn’t take part in the Gers’ pre-season and while he was involved at Feyenoord, he had only played two games in the Eredivisie.

Maybe there is more going on than meets the eye when it comes to Sterling’s fitness in Glasgow, but you’d have to imagine that the Gers would have been reluctant to hand an injury-hit player a new contract at this stage of the season.

In other Rangers news, Sterling has been left “dispirited” at Ibrox despite recent contract developments in Glasgow

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