Cedric Itten Deep Dive: Swiss striker faces Rangers crossroads - Craig Vickers

Malmo were inevitably going to retreat into a compact, low block, forcing Rangers to shell crosses into a congested penalty area. However, it was new boy Fashion Sakala Jr. that was summoned, as Itten went from starting the first leg to not seeing a single minute on the pitch just seven days later.

In truth, it was a sign of Itten’s confusing status among Gerrard’s squad, as there still remains uncertainty about what he exactly excels at.

After a debut season in which he played fewer than 10 90s in the Scottish Premiership, this season feels pivotal for the Swiss as he continues to carve out a role for himself in this system.

Debut season

Steven Gerrard’s use of Itten since his arrival last season has been sporadic, mostly centred on using the Swiss in very specific situations, both in starting line-ups and substitute appearances.

Itten played full 90s against Kilmarnock twice last term, with Gerrard eyeing the opportunity to exploit his aerial advantage against the diminutive full-backs of Calum Waters and Brandon Haunstrup who lined up for the Ayrshire side on those afternoons.

All in all, the bulk of the Swiss’ minutes in a Rangers shirt have been split between the No.9 and right-wing roles, with the majority of his appearances coming off the substitutes bench.

Above shows an overview of Itten’s profile in his debut season at the club. The Swiss is a low touch finisher, capable of using the ball to advance Rangers into dangerous areas.

‘Pinning’ ability

Perhaps most striking about Itten’s game is his ground strength, comfortable taking the ball into feet and ‘pinning’ his defensive number.

This is evidenced below in Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Hamilton Academical last season, a game in which Itten started as the No.9 and was perhaps the Gers’ standout performer in an otherwise lacklustre display that afternoon.

With Hamilton man-orientated defensively, Aribo squares up to his marker as Itten begins the process of pinning his marker, Aaron Martin. The key to this action is Itten dictating the defender’s movement, using his body to bring the ball into his feet while also boasting the strength to create separation from the defender.

As Aribo’s forward pass into Itten is not particularly threatening, this acts as a trigger for James Tavenier to begin his movement down the right flank away from his marker. Itten is then able to use his ability to pin defenders to continue the forward momentum of Aribo’s pass and lay the ball into Tavernier’s path in a dangerous crossing position.

Coupled with his intelligence of being able to read situations when the ball arrives at him, Rangers are able to create great openings through Itten’s ability to pin defenders.

In the 2-1 first leg defeat to Malmo in Champions League qualifying, Itten dovetailed nicely with Scott Wright’s direct running. In the example below, Wright is able to burst into a gap in the Malmo defensive line created by Itten’s ability to manipulate his defensive marker. It’s important, also, to note the timing of Itten’s return pass to Wright, using his awareness to spot the opportunity for his teammate to exploit the space.

With more minutes on the pitch and greater scope to display his skill set, it’s interesting to ponder the positive effects Itten’s hold-up ability could have on Rangers offensively.

If we take the example of his wonder strike against Motherwell in Rangers’ 5-1 win at Fir Park last season, the role of Well’ defender Ricki Lamie is worth honing in on.

As Itten receives the ball into feet, the Motherwell defender elects to back off to cover the third man run of Tavernier, affording the Swiss time and space to laser a shot into the top corner.

Given Itten specialises at receiving into feet and holding off defenders, it will invariably lead to situations in which defenders elect to drop back and pressurise his first touch from a distance. What this could potentially create for Rangers is scenarios where Itten receives between the lines, as he did for the above goal, with options arriving from both the flanks and runners from midfield.

Itten provides ball security in the final third with his strength in retaining possession, similar to Joe Aribo when he plays off the right in this Rangers system. Flanking the Swiss with penetrative runners around him, the likes of Wright, John Lundstram and Scott Arfield, could see him impact games more effectively.

Different profile

In terms of the two main No.9s at Gerrard’s disposal, Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe, Itten profiles more like the former, with his ability to move laterally and exploit space down the channels.

This was evidenced in Ianis Hagi’s goal against Livingston at the tail-end of last season, with the Swiss playing alongside Jermain Defoe in the forward line as Gerrard trialled a 4-3-1-2 towards the end of the league campaign.

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Itten shows great awareness to spot the space between the Livingston centre-backs before pulling the back for Hagi to score.

His lateral movement is reminiscent of Morelos in the early Gerrard days, and below is a comparison of Itten’s action map compared to Kemar Roofe in games last season where the pair had comparable actions.

It is apparent that Roofe’s touches (bottom) are far more concentrated in central areas, with the Englishman’s game more predicated on dominating in the penalty area and penetrating defensive lines with short, sharp runs.

Itten’s, meanwhile (top), are far more spread out, showing his tendency to vacate central areas to act as a link player and help Rangers progress the ball into dangerous areas.

System problems

Simply put, however, players in the forward line in this Rangers side need to impact games through goals and assists and, regardless of his lack of consistent minutes on the pitch, it is an area that Itten’s game has conspicuously lacked.

There is nothing inherently worrying about the Swiss’ underlying goalscoring numbers, but there is a growing dilemma that Rangers don’t create a huge volume of chances when Itten leads the line.

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This can largely be ascribed to the Swiss’ attributes, with his tendency to drop off away from the penalty box and act as the link man for players around him.

It raises the question of whether the coaching staff at Rangers need to simplify his game given there is a danger that he is too much of an all-rounder to function as the focal point in this system. Itten’s most meaningful, tangible contributions in a Rangers jersey have been in games where he has had a defined role, coming off the bench three times against Motherwell last season to provide the end product to his side’s multitude of crosses.

Pivotal season

A lot of the existing structures in this Rangers system is optimum for Itten, given the emphasis on chance creation from the wide areas which leads to a high volume of crosses.

Where perhaps Rangers could maximise Itten’s skillset when he’s on the pitch is by reconfiguring their attacking composition.

At his previous club St. Gallen, the Swiss thrived in a 4-3-1-2 set-up where there wasn’t as much emphasis on him being a link player. Interestingly, it’s a system Rangers deployed on occasions towards the end of last season.

The problem that Itten has encountered playing in this current Rangers system is that he’s largely found himself in the team when Gerrard has seen fit to rotate his side, but those changes have typically been at the expense of creativity. As a result, Itten is usually pulled further from goal and it becomes difficult for him to occupy the penalty area as much as he’d enjoy.

As an aerial presence in the penalty box, Itten remains Rangers’ most dangerous player, which makes it head-scratching that Gerrard did not turn to the Swiss on Tuesday night as it became evident Rangers’ best route to goal was from deliveries from wide.

The future of talisman Alfredo Morelos remains up in the air, and Rangers could face a scenario in which Itten moves up the pecking order as a result and Gerrard is forced to rely upon him more. Either way, the 24-year-old is approaching a crossroads.