Four glaring omissions from Rangers' UCL squad for Panathinaikos tie as bold prediction made by ex Ibrox ace
Russell Martin has confirmed his squad for the upcoming second round qualifier against the Greek side
Rangers have confirmed their 25-man squad for their upcoming UEFA Champions League second round qualifier against Panathinaikos - with four notable omissions.
Russell Martin will take charge of his first competitive game as new Light Blues boss next Tuesday when his new-look side play host to last season’s Greek Superleague runners-up in a crucial first leg at Ibrox.
And the former Southampton boss has included strike duo Hamza Igamane and Cyriel Dessers, despite transfer speculation linking both players with moves abroad this summer.
New signing Thelo Aasgaard has also been selected even though he remains a major injury doubt after picking up a knock in a closed-door friendly win over Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline earlier this week.
Martin will be sweating on the versatile attacker’s availability for the first leg of the multi-million pound clash, albeit the injury niggle is NOT expected to keep the former Luton Town star out of action for long.
A host of fringe players, who have been deemed surplus to requirements, are left out of the squad, including defensive trio Ridvan Yilmaz, Robin Propper and Ben Davies, while crocked winger Rabbi Matondo is also missing.
Barring Turkish full-back Yilmaz, the three aforementioned names were left behind in Glasgow last week when Rangers travelled south for a training camp at St George’s Park - base for the England National Team.
In addition, Ross McCausland, Jose Cifuentes and Clinton Nsiala are also absent from the list published on the club’s website, but there is a spot for ex-Norwich City man Kieran Dowell, who looks set to be handed an Ibrox lifeline by Martin.
Confirming the squad, a Rangers statement said: “For the A-list squad, the club were required to name 25-players, including eight who have been locally trained.
“A B-list, made up of young players, was also submitted and features the likes of Bailey Rice and Findlay Curtis.”
Rangers’ Champions League squad vs Panathinaikos
Goalkeepers
- Jack Butland
- Liam Kelly
- Kieran Wright
Defenders
- Max Aarons
- Nasser Djiga
- Emmanuel Fernandez
- Leon King
- John Souttar
- James Tavernier
- Jefte
Midfielders
- Thelo Aasgaard
- Nedim Bajrami
- Connor Barron
- Lyall Cameron
- Oscar Cortes
- Mohamed Diomande
- Kieran Dowell
- Robbie Fraser
- Djeidi Gassama
- Nicolas Raskin
- Joe Rothwell
Forwards
- Cyriel Dessers
- Josh Gentles
- Hamza Igamane
- Danilo
The announcement comes after Rangers’ most expensive signing of all-time Tore Andre Flo, who cost £12m from Chelsea back in 2000, offered a timeline for when he expects his old club to be back as serious contenders for the Scottish Premiership title.
Celtic have claimed the silverware for the last four seasons in a row but the former Norwegian striker reckons it won’t be long before the Light Blues are a force to be reckoned with again.
“Yes, I really think so,” he responded when asked an interview with BestBettingSites.co.uk if Rangers can challenge for the trophy this season.
“You know, Rangers is a very big club. With all the passion from the supporters and all that. So if they get going, they could be really good quite quickly.
“I know the gap was quite big and it maybe has been for the last few seasons, but Rangers will get back up there again. Rangers will win the league soon and it could already be next season.”