Former Rangers ace Barry Ferguson has waxed lyrical about Ovie Ejaria’s performance against Rapid Vienna in the Europa League, labelling the Liverpool loanee as a ‘proper footballer.’
The Light Blues secured a brilliant 3-1 win over the Austrian side at Ibrox on Thursday thanks to a double from Alfredo Morelos and a penalty from captain James Tavernier.
It was however Ejaria who caught Ferguson’s eye as the Liverpool-owned midfielder put in a masterful display in midfield for Steven Gerrard’s side, with the former Ibrox ace stating that the 20-year-old now needs to gain as much experience as possible.
In his column for the Daily Record, he said: “Ovie Ejaria is a proper footballer. If he gains the necessary experience at Rangers he will become a real player.”
OPINION
Ejaria has divided opinion since his loan move from Liverpool over the summer, but when he is in the mood he is clearly a very talented player. The young midfield dictated the game for Rangers against Vienna, and put in his best performance for the club so far. His graceful style is a joy to watch, and once he gains experience he will become a brilliant player, as Ferguson says. His inconsistency at the moment is the big issue, with Ejaria looking like a world-beater one game then going totally anonymous the next. Once he gets that experience though that should become less and less of a problem as he learns to deal with different game situations and different opponents. One thing that does seem to count against him in some people’s estimations is his languid and relaxed style of play, which occasionally comes across as lazy. There is not much he can do about that other than continue to work hard and prove that he is not those things.