Sky Sports pundit Davie Provan has revealed he was blown away by Joe Worrall’s debut performance for Rangers in midweek.
Manager Steven Gerrard opted to hand Worrall his first outing in a Light Blues jersey in the Europa League and the on-loan Nottingham Forest youngster was integral to his team securing a shock 2-2 draw against Villarreal.
Celtic legend Provan hailed the centre-back as a “class act” as he named the three Rangers players who most impressed him in Spain.
“Have to admit, I thought Rangers were in for a caning after losing that early goal in Spain,” Provan wrote in his weekly Scottish Sun column. “But while it would have been easy for Steven Gerrard’s team to fold, they proved resilient.
“If Allan McGregor and Kyle Lafferty were Gers’ best, Joe Worrall wasn’t far behind on his debut. The England Under-21 man looks a class act.”
OPINION
Rangers couldn’t source a reliable centre-back for love nor money in their first two seasons after returning to the Scottish top flight. Now, they suddenly have three of them. Plenty had a go under Mark Warburton, Pedro Caixinha and Graeme Murty. The roll-call is an extensive one, but none among Bruno Alves, David Bates, Fabio Cardoso, Clint Hill, Russell Martin, Rob Kiernan, Danny Wilson and company could claim to have been the answer to the team’s need for a rock solid citizen in the middle of the defence. Nikola Katic and Connor Goldson have laid the foundations for a hugely impressive start to the campaign for the Light Blues, and Worrall, 21, demonstrated how he is good enough to give the senior duo serious competition for their places. He has made an excellent first impression. With Gareth McAuley also in the ranks, Rangers almost have an embarrassment of riches in a position they struggled in not so long ago.