Rangers must find way to keep £8M-rated Vaclav Cerny | OneFootball

While Czech star Václav Černý started his Rangers career brilliantly, he suffered a painful lull when after missing a gilt-edge chance in Sweden, the former Twente winger missed an even worse one v Lyon, followed by a terrible afternoon at Ibrox v Hibs in which he ‘had a go’ at the fans.

At this point, the usual punters offered their ‘never been impressed with him’-type wisdom, where it becomes fashionable to slag off a player when they’ve had a bad match or two, for the purpose of virtue signalling and saying something emotional to get likes.

In reality these people really ought to shut up.

And in further reality they (mostly) have, because the international attacker’s stats this season are absolutely excellent – 8 goals and assists in 14 appearances, including 4 in 7 in the league.

It’s an outstanding return, and justifies every inch why the boy was brought to Govan.

He’d never played for a club the size of Rangers before, and had struggled a bit in a high-quality league in the form of the Bundesliga, but despite that little lull in the middle of his initial Rangers career, Černý has come roaring back to form and then some, reinvigorating himself against St Johnstone with a double.

Rangers brought this guy in as a top-tier winger – an £8M-rated winger with 9 goals and assists in 20 for his country – is he world class?

Let’s not get silly, he’s a great winger but not that good, but he is definitely better than the Rabbi Matondos and Ross McCauslands of this world, who could only dream of delivering his numbers. And would need to be fit enough in the first place.

Černý’s numbers for Rangers have been great – over one in two. That’s a success in any sense.

Yes, there are complaints he cuts in too much, but he is left-footed and always plays the right flank – that’s his game. It didn’t stop Arjen Robben too much whose entire game was pretty much cutting in. He was just so good at it though that no matter how much you knew what he was going to do, he still did it with ease anyway.

Černý might not quite be on Robben’s level, but he’s by a distance the best winger Rangers have and the club would do very well to keep him next summer, but he will not be cheap.

He was explosive v FCSB and was out to prove a point that night – an assist and two goals later certainly went some way to achieving that.

Him on the right and a fit Oscar Cortes on the left could be quite a combo.