Badredine Bouanani

I think if Celtic try and compress, then it will play into our advantage because, and, and again, I'm keen to get your thoughts on this.

I was very surprised last Sunday when Bouanani was not on the starting 11, and he decided to put Kim slightly out wide.

That to me actually worked really, really well, so all credit to, to Derek McInnes there.

But I do think that Bouanani will start because the aim will be that if we are seeing a little bit more of a, of a compact middle of the field, it will be the case of, right, even if you just need to get it forward, just get it forward out to one of the flanks and let one of the wingers go up there, and then we can go in and support.

That for me will be really interesting.

Gassama's a, a first pick for me right now in the way he's playing, the problems that he can cause.

I think that's the important thing to actually say there as well, is that anyone who does come out of this side for Sunday is not gonna be on the basis of their performance last Sunday.

It's g- It is going to be tactical.

If so, does Curtis come in on the right and Min-soo in the, I think he means in the sort of 10 role.

Um, I think Joshua, when he was on with me yesterday, we discussed what sort of team you would, um, put out there, whether you just keep the same 11 or there is a, a feeling do you bring Min-soo in, uh, in the 10, um, maybe put Bouanani out there on the right-hand side.

Um, would you be doing something like that, Johnny?

I don't think I would play Bouanani.

I, I think it's-

...

Bouanani, sorry.

It's not as if you're putting in a player in there who's, who's lightweight and can't get around Callum McGregor.

So, so, and then maybe you bring Bouanani in on the right, I know we're gonna speak about set pieces-

Yeah

... uh, later after our story, story earlier in the week.

That would be the slight trade-off for me, but I, I do understand the opposite argument to that as well, in that if Nady's been excellent, if Celtic couldn't cope with Rangers' approach, then, then why change it? And you've got options to-

Yeah

... to, to tweak things from the, tweak them, things from the bench, if so, because you do have Bouanani, you do have Curtis, uh, you do have Milovsky, and amongst others, potentially able to, to come on and try and impact the game.

game.Yeah.

Um, Simon Ireland's obviously left the club, uh, now.

So, it'll be interesting to see what the, what it looks like in terms of set pieces going forward because there's kinda two points to this that I think are important, Derek, to mention, is that Derek McInnes has touched on this in, in a press conference where he said that, "Look," uh, essentially what he's saying is, "It'll help us if we have better delivery." And Bejreddin Bouanani is the answer to that essentially.

That is, that is what the solution is in, in some people's minds because he is, as it's been touted, one of the best deliverers of a ball at the club, one of the best corner takers.

Now, you do have the sort of argument, if he's not playing all the time, is that useful? If he's just gonna be on for 20, 25 minutes of a game, and then what do you do for the rest of the time? Are you just gonna, like, not have good corners going in, not have good free kicks going in? So, there has to be a bit of a long-term plan there.

You got the pace of Gassama, for example.

Um, does he bring Bouanani in? I'm not too sure.

I know he came off, off the bench yesterday.

Um, do you play the two strikers that you did yesterday and just press like mad as, as we've seen, um, yesterday? Um, I would be tempted to keep it as is.

And secondly, Derek McInnes did speak about it at the press conference.

Remember, you and I spoke about this last week, Derek, and I was saying how I understood that deliveries was part of an issue because Rangers had lost Tavernier and Conor Barron.

And Derek McInnes said that, and he said that Bouanani, he thinks, will help.

Bouanani took the set pieces on Wednesday against St Mirren.

Uh, at midfield, I think he'll go stick with Neil and Raskin.

Uh, and then I would be going Gassama, Min-soo, Bouanani, and, pah, I would be te- I would be tempted to go Mayovski, I've got to say, but I don't think he will.

I think he'll go Nadiri.

Yeah.

So there's a, there's a big sort of gap in the middle, and that needs a bit of creativity.

It needs someone with, um, the ability to take the ball in and, and do something with it, and I think Min-soo Kim is that player.

On the right-hand side, um, I would be going Bouanani as well.

I think it is a bit of a toss-up.

Kelsey and Nadiri linking up a few times.

Uh, Bouanani cutting in on that left foot.

Some lovely balls into the box.

Kasama looked lively.

He scored a great goal, and obviously until you get that goal, you just have to be on your guard as much as anything else." O'Neill added, "I thought probably the big moment of the game was them hitting the bar with the header from the corner kick.

It seemed pretty comfortable at the end, and we played some really good stuff as well, so I am delighted with that." Meanwhile, Rangers are closing in on the 14th signing with Stuttgart winger, Badreddin Bouanani, ready to move to Ibrox on deadline day.

The Algerian international would become the 14th summer signing at Ibrox.

Manager Derek McInnes discussed his final transfer plans after the win at Falkirk and said, "There is no secret that we have worked hard to get Kevin Kelsey here for £9 million.

There may be other little things that will happen." Bouanani, who joined Stuttgart last summer, is undergoing a medical to finalize his move to Glasgow.

The winger has previously played for Lille and Neath and had a loan stint at Lorient.

This summer, McInnes has already welcomed Daizen Maeda, Yokota, and Kum Min-soo to the squad.

Sitting in the Falkirk press room on Wednesday evening, Derek McInnes teased that Kevin Kelsey might not be the only player Rangers manage to sign on deadline day.