Whenever the transfer window does open this summer there is one man who should be sweating over his time at Rangers – Matt Polster.
The versatile American has been struggling for minutes at Ibrox this term and has also been criticised by his manager Steven Gerrard.
On the chalkboard
Polster was brought to Glasgow following a successful trial period with the Light Blues at the back end of 2018. However, since arriving he’s never really been able to knuckle down and become a key part of the team.
In 2018/19, the one-cap USA international played just once for the Gers. So far this campaign, the 26-year-old has racked up eight outings, accumulating 434 minutes in the process.
Only twice has he started in the SPFL, while his last Europa League outing was something of a disaster. He allowed Leon Bailey to turn him inside the Bayer Leverkusen half as the American went steaming in to win the ball. The Jamaican winger then beat him too easily again in a later phase of play before rifling the ball into the back of the net.
Consequently, Gerrard slated the right-back, lamenting him for not taking one for the team.
Those words don’t bode well for someone who was linked so heavily with a move away in January.
McCrorie lying in wait
Following the conclusion of the winter window, Polster was somehow still a Rangers player. It was suggested the defender still had a vital role to play but it’s clear that isn’t the case.
Although his closest competitor for a spot at right-back, James Tavernier, looks as though he could depart Ibrox, he has every reason to be fearful again about his time in Scotland.
The fact of the matter is that he isn’t good enough and his ability to crumble so easily as a second-half substitute against Leverkusen summed that up.
Lying in wait, however, is Ross McCrorie. The defender has been doing phenomenally well on loan at Portsmouth and once he returns to Scotland should be ahead of Polster in the pecking order.
The 22-year-old is showing eventual signs of being Tavernier’s successor on the right – something his three assists and 1.6 dribbles per game in League One would attest to.
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Like Polster, McCrorie also has the ability to play in a holding role in midfield, adding further weight to the fact that the American would be rather surplus to Gerrard next term.
It’s perhaps harsh given his lack of opportunities but if Tavernier does end up staying too, there would be little use for Polster in Glasgow. He needs to be sweating over his career and wondering where on earth his future lies.
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