Player to Watch - Danny Wilson
Club:Glasgow Rangers
Nationality:Scotland
Age:18
Height:1.87 m / 6.14 ft
Weight:79 kg / 173 lbs
Position:Central defender
Appearances 16 -
Goals 1 -
Assists - -
There has been a huge amount of hype surrounding 18-year-old Rangers defender Danny Wilson for over a year now. Despite the fact that very few had seen him play, there were rumours linking the 6.1ft centre back with a move away from Ibrox before he had even played for the SPL champions.
A product of the Rangers youth system, Wilson made his debut in October 2009 in a League Cup match against Dundee. First team opportunities were a little harder to come by until injury problems hit Rangers’ small squad and he was handed a start in a difficult Champions League away match at Unirea Urziceni in November 2009. At 17 Wilson was one of, if not the best, players on the pitch on the night.
Since that match in Romania Wilson has cemented his place in the Rangers first team due to the injury and absences of Algerian central defender Madjid Bougherra. As the Gers storm to another SPL title Wilson has been an assured presence at the heart of the defence. He has hardly put a foot wrong and he has leaned on the experience of David Weir alongside him who is Rangers skipper and about to turn 40.
Wilson is a cultured left-footed defender who knows when to time a tackle and can also pick out great cross field passes. With good physical presence he is good in the air at both ends of the pitch and at Rangers he has been part of a winning side in the league and also picked up experience of the Champions League.
In a short time Wilson has proved his quality at attacking set pieces. He claimed his first senior goal with a towering header in the fifth minute of the 4-1 win at Hearts (see video below). And last night the young defender headed down for Kenny Miller to score the final goal in a 3-1 victory over Aberdeen.
Despite a number of composed performances Wilson did show his inexperience in the League Cup final against St Mirren in March. He was sent off with 19 minutes remaining with a naïve tug on Craig Dargo when Rangers were already a man down.
Aside from this aberration Wislon looks to be level headed for his age as well and those that know him have said he is smart and articulate. This is shown with his leadership skills which have been prominent from a young age. He has captained both the Rangers Under-19 team and the Scotland Under-19 national side and has also been called up to the Scotland Under-21 squad but is yet to play.
His performances in the second half of 2009/2010 are also set to be recognised next month with pundits calling for him to be crowned Young Player of the season in Scotland.
South of the border Wilson has been a constant source of transfer gossip, even before he made his Rangers debut. In recent weeks this has ratcheted up a notch due to Rangers’ financial problems and as his contract expires in 15 months.
Liverpool and Spurs are among the clubs reportedly interested and Martin Bain, the Rangers chief executive, said recently that, "Two English Premiership clubs approached us in January and since then I have had the odd discussion and we have seen people coming along to watch our players and you can see who they are coming along to watch, I can confirm that Liverpool have expressed an interest, but a lot of clubs are keeping abreast of Danny’s situation."
In recent years Rangers have sold Jean-Alain Boumsong and Carlos Cuellar to English clubs and the bottom line is that they cannot afford not to offload him this summer if he does not sign a new deal. Some in Scotland have called on Wilson to stay and learn his trade in the SPL for a few more years.
Famously another cultured Scottish defender, Alan Hansen, moved to Liverpool when he was just 22 and Wilson could probably learn more in the English game and he undoubtedly has the talent to succeed in the Premier League.
