Glasgow Rangers strolled to a comfortable win in the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox on Saturday as they swatted Livingston aside with a 3-0 victory.
Fabio Silva, Rabbi Matondo, and Todd Cantwell scored the goals to put the Light Blues to within three points of top spot, with a game in hand on their rivals.
There was one negative to come from the match, though, as experienced central defender Leon Balogun was forced off in the first half and Philippe Clement has since confirmed that the veteran has a “bad” injury and “probably” has something broken in his face.
The 35-year-old titan could now be set for a spell on the sidelines before a possible return with a protective mask and this opens the door for another centre-back to step up.
John Souttar came off the bench to replace him and produced a solid display, winning three of his four aerial duels, but the Belgian head coach could unearth a surprise replacement in Leon King.
Balogun’s defensive dominance this season
The former QPR enforcer has started 11 games in the Premiership for the Gers this season and caught the eye with his dominant defensive work.
He has hardly put a foot, or head, wrong with a fantastic duel success rate of 70%, which shows that opposition players have found it incredibly difficult to get the better of him in physical contests.
Rangers have kept seven clean sheets in his 11 league outings and his 3.0 tackles and interceptions per match have played a part in that, as the experienced ace has consistently cut out attacks to prevent Jack Butland’s goal from being worked.
It remains to be seen how long the Nigerian colossus will be out for with this ‘bad’ injury blow to his face but King could emerge as a surprise replacement for him for however long it ends up being.
Leon King’s potential at Rangers
Souttar, at the age of 27, is the proven and experienced option to take Balogun’s spot at the back, as he did on Saturday. However, Clement could be bold and unleash the youngster instead to provide him with vital experience to help his development.
King, 20, is yet to start a game in the Premiership this season and was not sent out on loan during the January transfer window to play regular minutes elsewhere.
Therefore, the Belgian tactician should unleash the Scotland youth international from the start in Balogun’s absence as he showed potential in his limited minutes under Gio van Bronckhorst and Michael Beale last term.
|
22/23 Premiership |
Leon King (via Sofascore) |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
15 |
|
Pass accuracy |
88% |
|
Tackles per game |
1.3 |
|
Clearances per game |
1.9 |
|
Duel success rate |
58% |
|
Dribble success rate |
100% |
The Scottish ace, who was once described as a “Rolls Royce” by Alan Hutton, only started nine of his 15 Premiership appearances during the 2022/23 campaign but did catch the eye with a ground duel success rate of 67%.
King was also reliable in possession with a pass success rate of 88%, including 92% inside his own half, and these statistics show that the academy graduate can dominate opposition attackers off the ball and be composed and consistent on the ball.
The 6 foot titan needs game time to develop and improve to go on to be a regular starter for Rangers in the future and this Balogun injury is the perfect opportunity for Clement to offer him a chance to impress as a surprise replacement ahead of Souttar.
