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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Robbie Copeland

5 things Aaron Ramsey will bring to Rangers as dust settles on deadline day blockbuster

Rangers completed one of the most exciting deadline day signings Scottish football has ever seen as Aaron Ramsey arrived on loan from Juventus.

It was scarcely believable even with hours remaining of the window but somehow the Premiership leaders managed to pull it off.

Ramsey arrives with a reputation as one of the most naturally gifted midfielders of his generation in British football.

And with a top-level pedigree matched perhaps only by Joe Hart in the Scottish game, it's easy to see why fans and pundits alike are getting excited.

The point made by Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou holds some weight, however - none of it counts until he makes his mark on the pitch.

(SNS Group)

Peeking beyond all the bluster and fanfare, then, what can Rangers fans actually expect to see from Ramsey when he takes to the Ibrox pitch for the first time?

Record Sport have taken a look at what he brings to the table.

Creativity

Let's get the obvious one out the way nice and early, shall we?

The major asset a fit-and-firing Ramsey brings to the table is his ability to create - often out of nothing.

Aaron Ramsey is a Rangers player (Getty Images)

His inventiveness on the ball has dug Arsenal, Wales and Juventus out of countless holes over the years and even in recent seasons, with his injury record starting to fail him, his creative numbers have been impressive.

He's averaged a key pass every 100 minutes since the beginning of 2020/21. So if you play him for 90 minutes, you're almost guaranteed he'll come up with something .

And while he's only notched three assists in the same period, his expected assists total in Serie A sits at eight.

Considering he's played just over 1,000 minutes in that time, that's good going.

Goals from midfield

A big part of Ramsey's appeal is that he can step in and provide a threat when the likes of Joe Aribo and Scott Arfield - Rangers ' only real goal threats from midfield - aren't able to.

The Welshman hasn't been a prolific goalscorer by any stretch but he has a proven track record of regularly chipping in.

He averaged nine goals per season during his six as a first-team regular at Arsenal, and came up with four in his debut season at Juve - one for every 350 minutes he played.

For those two clubs in total, he's scored 71 times in 441 games - an average of one in every five appearances.

And while his semi-regular screamers are one thing (we'll come to that later) many of his goals have come from opportunistic late runs into the box.

That was on show as he netted an intuitive brace for Wales against Belarus in November, showing he still has it despite a lack of club football.

Lethal on the counter

As a key part of Arsene Wenger's champagne Arsenal sides of the early 2010s, Ramsey became known for his ability to turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye.

After fighting back from that horrific leg break against Stoke City, he shone brighter even than Mikel Arteta and Mesut Ozil in a star-studded Gunners side that won back-to-back FA Cups.

Much of that success was down to his transitional play in midfield, taking the ball on the turn and and getting his team up the pitch.

At his best there wasn't a better dribbler on the planet, as Norwich found out in 2013 when he left two defenders sitting down and curled in one of the goals of his life.

Having someone with Ramsey's ability to flip a switch, turn on the counter and relieve some pressure could be absolutely priceless - particularly in the big games where Gers aren't necessarily in control.

Bear in mind the Ibrox side face Borussia Dortmund in just a couple of weeks.

Ball retention

Much of playing for Rangers, however, is about keeping the ball and waiting patiently. And that's something Ramsey is equally prolific at: keeping hold of the ball.

Though he hasn't played as much football as he would have liked over the past 18 months, his pass completion numbers have been up there with just about anyonein football.

This season he has completed 90 per cent of his passes for club and country - a pretty spectacular feat considering he's played more football for Wales than Juventus.

But track it back further and it reads just as well - he's averaged 85 per cent over the last season-and-a-half while 79 per cent of his long passes have hit their mark.

He basically never gives it away and has even completed 83 per cent of his dribbles this season - a career high for the Welshman.

This comes in handy when Rangers find themselves facing up to a low block. Ramsey is as an effective recycler of possession as you'll find and will rarely, if ever, be the player who drops the ball in midfield.

Moments of magic

But as much as a deep dive into the minute aspects of his game can tell you a lot about what to expect, what really sets Ramsey apart is his ability to do the unthinkable.

And no, I don't mean actually signing for Rangers in the first place.

With the ball at his feet he can do things other players can't even manage in FIFA.

From his sublime goal-of-the-season contender against Galatasaray to his subtle back-heel flick against Spurs, Ramsey makes things happen out of nothing, and that's why his reputation is what it is even despite his recent injury record.

Unless he's prepared to take an eye-bleeding salary cut in the summer, it's likely we'll only be seeing Ramsey in Scotland for six months.

But it's enough for him to make an impact, and if he can stay fit for long enough to sustain a run in the team - that's a big if - then we're all but guaranteed to see a few moments of magic.

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