Rangers‘ recent horror show at Ibrox proved a particularly galling evening for experienced goalkeeper, Allan McGregor, with the veteran Scotsman having shipped seven goals on what was a grim night for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men.
While not solely to blame for his side’s second-half capitulation, the 40-year-old had looked somewhat “suspect” against Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Liverpool side, in the words of pundit Gabby Agbonlahor.
Such a performance has been something of an anomaly in an otherwise impressive career to date – having only recently made eight saves at Anfield last week – although may well be a sign that age could finally be catching up with the 42-cap sensation.
The former Besiktas man – who had returned for a second spell in Glasgow back in 2018 – has been a reliable servant for the Scottish Premiership side over the years, racking up 207 clean sheets in 457 games for the club in all competitions thus far.
Lauded as the club’s “best ever goalkeeper” by pundit Tam McManus, the Edinburgh-born colossus remains a hugely respected figure in the Gers’ history, although on the evidence of Wednesday evening a succession plan may well be needed sooner rather than later.
The aforementioned Hutton has tipped 24-year-old Robby McCrorie to be that possible successor, while teammate Jon McLaughlin has also featured heavily in the early weeks of the season, although one other potential heir to McGregor’s crown could well be that of 17-year-old, Jacob Pazikas, with the youngster having impressed in the club’s youth ranks of late.
The teenager stopper has made six appearances in all competitions so far this term, notably catching the eye despite defeat in the recent UEFA Youth League encounters with the Merseysiders for the club’s U19 side.
The 4-1 loss last week saw the Paisley-born starlet perform ‘heroics’ to help keep the scoreline down against a rampant Reds outfit – as per the Liverpool Echo – having been particularly ‘busy’ in his attempts to keep the ruthless opposition at bay.
The Scotland U17 international was again in the sticks as the two sides played out a 4-3 thriller earlier this week, impressing early on as he made a fine save to deny former Celtic starlet, Ben Doak.
While he was not able to keep the former Celtic gem and his teammates at bay throughout the contest, Pazikas has begun to show early signs of his undoubted quality, with first-team boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst likely to be keeping a close eye on his development with the idea of potentially unleashing him in the future.
