Rangers scouting: The free transfer winger with Arjen Robben cut inside who could supercharge in SPFL

This couldn't be further from the truth, as albeit on a limited sample size due to many Russians’ preferring to remain in the domestic circuit, the Russian Premier League has successfully exported a series of exciting and talented footballers in the recent past in the likes of Andrei Arshavin, Yuri Zhirkov, Alexander Golovin, and Denis Cheryshev.

Rangers’ relations and past forays into Russia are mainly limited to momentous European away-days - Vladikavkaz, Ufa and the obvious elephant in the room, the 2008 Europa League Final. It is stating the obvious but Rangers cannot financially compete with Zenit and likely the trio of Moscow clubs: Lokomotiv, Dynamo, and Spartak.

However, picking off talented “outcasts” from that quarter should not be too challenging, and within this line of thinking, there is no better option than Zelimkhan Bakaev, an equally exciting and ergonomic solution to our right-wing woes, not to mention he will be available on a Bosman at the end of the season.

Profile

Bakaev is a right-sided winger who can and has on occasion played as far back as right-wing-back but is best when given space and time on the ball in the final third. Physically he is squat with solid legs and a decent frame. For Spartak this season, Bakaev has filled in across the right-side, playing as a right-wing-back, right-midfielder, and right-winger in Spartak’s varying tactical setups. His career heatmap, which is seen below, indicates his penchant for cutting and hitting the deep corners. Additionally, the faint marks on the left indicate an ability and a tendency to be part of an impromptu wing-swap with his peer on the other side.

For reasons unbeknownst to me and many Spartak fans, Bakaev has fallen out of favour and is far from a guaranteed starter this season. This is likely due to a series of factors, but the most important have been: system change and the “name-value” of those also vying for his spot in Victor Moses and Jordan Larsson. Additionally, he suffered from a nasty bout of Covid in early 2020 and has only recently returned to his fully-functioning best. Despite all of this, he has remained a vital rotation piece racking up just over 800 mins in the RPL this season, and his stats within that sample size are impressive; see below.

The most impressive aspect of Bakaev’s output is that no particular area standouts above the rest, all are firmly above average, with his movement “section” quantitatively being the most impressive. His complete underperformance of his xG is not great viewing, but the sample size is far from large enough to make any sweeping conclusions. His consistency in chance creation is incredible as he is towards the top of the pile for almost all of the metrics related to finding teammates in optimal positions. The 850-minute sample size allows some quirks to persist; however, his numbers are special even with this caveat.

Goal Scoring

Bakaev’s goal output season on season remains fairly average but consistent. He is not the type of winger to contribute double-digit figures in the goals scored category, though this is pretty obvious when looking at his RPL career shot map below. In the five full years he has been playing in Russia’s top league his shots have been relatively inconsistent with no “real” large clusters and are low value for the most part. This is not concerning as this is the reality for most wingers - however you would expect if he were to move to Rangers his raw and qualitative shot output would improve.

When it comes off, his left foot is excellent for the cameras, as he is more often than not looking to cut in and emulate the legendary Arjen Robben. Often he will either slip back towards the byline and cross or just send in an inswinging cross, but he is capable of taking aim, as evidenced below.

For the most part, both his shots and goals are less flashy, often born out of hard running and counter-attacks. His pace and license to roam often results in him popping up in the right place at the right time. This is evidenced in the example below, where we see him offer a charging counter-run before navigating the penalty box and slotting it past the goalkeeper.

Many Rangers fans criticise a lack of goalscoring prowess in the club's existing wingers, which is a whole other debate to be had.

Admittedly Bakaev would unlikely satisfy those who are most demanding, however, he does have the tools to supercharge his goalscoring output in a dominant Rangers.

Chance Creation

Bakaev is a brilliant and effective creator and has been so for the entirety of his time in the Russian capital. Despite encompassing goalscoring and goal-creation, Bakev trumps all the named winger's in the Scottish Premiership in terms of xGC (Expected Goal Contribution, xG + xA) besides Martin Boyle, who advantageously was Hibs' penalty-taker. If we isolate it to just Rangers players, he has been responsible for double the share of xGC than Aribo, Kent or Hagi, albeit whilst playing for a side whose net xGC yield is slightly less.

The vast majority of Bakev’s chance creation is from classical winger-play, either close and quick interactions with his forwards or through crosses and balls. His timing, intelligence and ability to contour his body make him highly effective and a multi-potent creator capable from tight angles. Below is an excellent example of his intelligence and close interplay; here, he holds off the Benfica defender and waits patiently for his teammate to make a run into the box. Once he is close enough, Bakaev's back heel scoops the ball into open space for his teammate to pick up. His timing, patience and technique make this chance.

Despite being disproportionately influential in tight spaces, Bakaev can still thread the needle in open play, but his overwhelming one-footedness makes it so that some angles are simply unconducive. Despite this, his ability with both sides of his foot does counter-act this to an extent. The example below shows this perfectly here, he trivella's the ball into the striker's path, circumventing the defensive line and warping their shape.

When playing on the right, which he does, for the most part, crossing angles are often hard to come by for Bakaev, as the trade-off is his ability to cut inside. Despite this, he can chop back, open his body up, and deliver the ball, which is less efficient but effective nonetheless. His pace and trickiness allow him to get into position and give him ample time to send a ball in, more so than most. The example below shows a well-flighted delivery into a packed Tula penalty box. Sobolev manages to get his head to the ball and nods it into the back of the net.

Progressive Qualities

One of Bakaev’s most valuable talents is his ability to progress the ball; whether that be through dribbling or passing is up to him. His pace and impressive control allow him to beat players quickly and cleanly, which is inherently valuable once he progresses close to the box. Additionally, his passing range and accuracy allow him to find players further upfield, most effective when asked to play as a deeper right-mid or as a right-wing-back. This is something that Kent and Aribo have in abundance, but outwith that duo, something that we lack and a sticking point that often compounds other shortcomings.

Bakaev leads the Scottish Premierships wingers far and away when it comes to possession adjusted progressive actions, putting up almost double the number than the closest competitor, albeit Rangers players are taxed heavily with the possession adjustment. The chart above would be the central theme of my 90-second elevator pitch to the Rangers recruitment team, the goals, chance creation, and the rest help beef it out, time permitting obviously.

Fit and Feasibility

This part is simple; Rangers need a right winger and a starting calibre one at that. Bakaev is a prime-age right winger available for free; I need not say more.

Though some may ask, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the potential permutations in this context; this is firmly towards the bottom of the list of relevant discourses that need airing within this sphere.