- Rangers face a left-back shortage with Jayden Meghoma returning and limited depth remaining.
- Max Lowe offers composure, versatility, and leadership rather than high-intensity attacking output
- Lowe seen as a short-term solution to stabilise defence and develop younger options.
The conversation around succession planning at Rangers has, in recent weeks, largely centred on the inevitable: how do you replace a figure as ever-present and influential as James Tavernier?
A decade of consistency, leadership, and goal contributions is not something that can be easily replicated, and while much of the focus has naturally fallen on right-sided solutions, there is a parallel issue quietly developing on the opposite flank.
With Jayden Meghoma set to return to Brentford following his loan spell, Rangers’ left-back department looks increasingly thin.
Meghoma has played well since his arrival last summer, but is now second-choice at left back following the January signing of Tuur Rommens.
Yet when the loanee departs, the depth chart becomes alarmingly sparse, with only 16-year-old Ashton Scally remaining in reserve.
That context reframes the recent links to Max Lowe.
Max Lowe tipped for Rohl reunion
Initially floated as a potential right-sided solution, a successor to Tavernier, the more compelling argument may be that Lowe addresses a more immediate structural need on the left.
Insight from Matt Johnson, co-host of The Wednesday ’Til I Die Podcast who has closely followed Lowe’s time at Sheffield Wednesday, suggests that may indeed be the case.
“Where he has been exposed is the rotating cast of players alongside him,” Johnson explained in relation to the Owls poor campaign this year.
“In his time at Wednesday he has never had the luxury of establishing partnerships with those alongside him for more than a stretch of 5–10 games.”
Left back, not right back
Positionally, Johnson is clear that Lowe’s natural fit leans toward the left side of defence.
“He is a very solid player,” he said.
“If you want an up-and-down left back or left centre back he is not that.
If you want a competent defender who is good on the ball and starting attacks, he’s great.”
That distinction is critical. Lowe is not a like-for-like replacement for the modern, high-output full-back archetype.
Instead, he offers composure in possession, progressive passing, and a calmer presence, akin to the abilities of Dujon Sterling on the opposite defensive flank.
Positional flexibility
He can also play in the centre of defence as well.
A trait unlocked by now Gers boss Danny Rohl during his time at Hillsborough.
“He can play both, but Rohl spotted he could play in a back three and he has been brilliant,” he said.
“Prior to that he had never played there.
“Another example of the great management we saw by Rohl in seeing something in an established player and adding to his game.”
That adaptability could be particularly valuable for a Rangers side that has shifted between back-four and back-three system this season.
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With captain Tavernier set to depart, Lowe’s leadership qualities have also been praised.
“The other thing that has gone under the radar is he has been a very calming influence on several younger players in the dressing room this season,” Johnson explained.
“A real understated leader by all accounts.”
For a squad that may soon lose Tavernier’s presence, that kind of understated leadership has value.
Not every replacement needs to replicate the captain’s output; some must simply stabilise the environment around emerging players.
With Meghoma returning south and depth at a premium.
The left-back position may quietly become one of the most pressing areas of business this summer.
While the spotlight remains fixed on replacing Tavernier, the more immediate priority may lie on the other flank entirely.
