Rangers loan watch: Barker steals the show as Edmundson faces uncertain future

Joe Aribo and Ryan Kent gave the Gers a two-goal cushion on Sunday before Kevin Nisbet ensured a nervy end to the contest by pulling one back for Hibs 10 minutes from the end.

Of course, they weren’t the only players contracted to Ibrox in action this weekend, with a host of loan Rangers playing their part for their temporary sides over the weekend.

Here, Glasgow Times Sport runs the rule over the club’s loaned-out players to see how they’ve been getting on.

Glenn Middleton (St Johnstone)

The 21-year-old had to make do with a place on the bench for last week’s 1-0 win over Dundee in the Scottish Cup but was restored to the starting line-up for Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen at McDiarmid Park.

Middleton had provided the winning goal in his last outing for Callum Davidson’s side, sealing Saints’ place in the top six, but the attacker was unable to repeat the trick against the Dons.

The Scotland under-21 internationalist lasted 70 minutes against Aberdeen before being subbed off but will be hoping to offer more going forward – all three of Middleton’s attempted dribbles were unsuccessful, the forward won just one of his eight offensive duels, and completely a mere nine passes before being hooked.

Jordan Jones (Sunderland)

The winger made his return from injury a week ago and made an instant impact, setting up a goal in the 3-1 win over Oxford United, but things haven’t been quite as rosy this week for the Northern Irishman.

Jones started in the 1-1 draw with Peterborough earlier in the week and gave a good account of himself down the right flank, completing five of his seven dribbles and winning two thirds of his offensive duels before being brought off with around 20 minutes to go.

At the weekend, though, Jones was named on the bench and despite coming on with about half an hour to go, the 26-year-old unable to prevent his side falling to a 2-1 defeat against Charlton at the Stadium of Light. He hit five crosses after being brought on but rather damningly, not a single one found their intended target.

George Edmundson (Derby County)

The centre-half played no part in either of his side’s fixtures last week due to a hernia issue and could be ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after being told he may require an operation to treat it.

Derby manager Wayne Rooney last week revealed that Edmundson will be out for between two and three weeks before adding that the English Championship club are considering surgery to treat the hernia.

Brandon Barker (Oxford United)

The one-time Hibs loanee played in both of his side’s league fixtures last week and fared pretty well, even if results didn’t always go Oxford’s way.

On Tuesday evening, Barker was unable to prevent the U’s from falling to a 2-1 defeat at home to promotion-chasing Peterborough United but can be largely pleased with his own performance on the left wing: he completed 13 of 18 dribbles, won 63 percent of his offensive duels and the majority of his crosses found their man.

It was a warning of what was to come and Barker was once again in fine form as Oxford swept Accrington Stanley away with a commanding 6-0 win on Saturday afternoon. The Rangers loanee started on the left and finished the game with a goal and an assist before being subbed off for the last half hour.

Josh McPake (Harrogate Town)

It was a bad week for Harrogate Town, who lost 2-0 away to Port Vale on Tuesday night before following that up with another defeat on Saturday, this time at home to Bolton Wanderers.

McPake lasted the full 90 minutes against Port Vale and played most of the game against Bolton before being brought off in the second half but the 19-year-old will be looking to provide more for his side going forward. Between the two defeats, McPake hit three shots (with only one on target), attempted one cross that was inaccurate, and failed to lay on a team-mate for a single shot at goal.

Stephen Kelly (Ross County)

After playing the full 90 minutes of County’s Scottish Cup exit at the hands of Highland rivals Inverness a little over a week ago, Kelly found himself dropped to the bench for his side’s 2-2 draw with Kilmarnock on Saturday.

The central midfielder came on for the last 20 minutes or so at Rugby Park but while he showed a few neat touches, he didn’t see enough of the ball to turn the game in Killie’s favour.

Ben Williamson (Arbroath)

The youngster started the game in his usual berth in central midfield and lasted the full 90 minutes in the entertaining 2-2 draw that saw the Red Lichties grab a share of the spoils thanks to Ricky Little’s late equaliser.

Williamson fared fairly well overall, winning two thirds of his offensive duels and successfully completing all four of his attempted dribbles, but could be a little more cautious on the ball – of the 20 passes he attempted, only 13 found their intended target.

Kai Kennedy (Raith Rovers)

Another loan Ranger that was in action at Stark’s Park on Saturday afternoon, and another who had something of a mixed bag. Like Williamson, Kennedy played the entirety of the 2-2 draw and generally gave a good account of himself – but could have offered a stronger presence in possession.

The 19-year-old’s distribution was laser-guided at times as Kennedy finished the game with 51 successful passes to his name. He boasted a passing accuracy of 89 percent come the final whistle and two out of his three crosses were accurate. The problem, though, was that Kennedy was too ineffective when it came to winning his individual battles – he won just four out of 15 offensive duels.

Lewis Mayo (Dunfermline)

The 21-year-old has been a first-team regular at East End Park this term and that didn’t change on Saturday as Mayo played the full 90 minutes in the Pars’ 1-1 draw with Ayr United at Somerset Park.

The natural centre-back started in his usual spot in defensive midfield but while he performed well enough off the ball, Mayo once again struggled when picking out his team-mates.

He finished the match with eight interceptions to his name – a fine tally – and won the vast majority of his defensive duels but was let down by his passing, particularly going forward. Mayo’s passing accuracy dropped to 59 percent when he was playing the ball forward, and that figure plummeted to just 36 percent when attempting to find a team-mate in the final third.

Ciaran Dickson, Rhys Breen, James Maxwell and Dapo Mebude (Queen of the South)

All four of Queens’ on-loan Rangers stars were in action in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Inverness, with Maxwell the pick of the bunch at left-back; the 19-year-old won the ball back on 14 occasions on total and was careful in possession, with 88 percent of his passes finding their intended target.

Breen was similarly in good form, winning all of his defensive duels and all but one of his aerial challenges, while 18-year-old Dickson showed flashes of promise in what was only his fourth appearance for the Championship club.

Medude, meanwhile, started the match at left wing and will have been left feeling disappointed that he was unable to contribute more: seven of his 10 attempted dribbles were unsuccessful, and he completed just eight passes over the course of the 90 minutes.