Rangers' Dujon Sterling opens up on mystery illness, Tavernier connection, and 'genius' Michael Beale

Such have been the obstacles overcome so far in his short career, it’s no surprise to learn that Dujon Sterling is not intimidated by his latest challenge.

Joining a club where the person occupying your position is not only skipper but has also recently been inducted in the club’s hall of fame does not, on the face of it, seem like a sensible step. Especially when game time is a primary consideration.

Sterling is emerging from a period when even playing again was not something he could take for granted. Illness and injury have stalked the 23-year-old in his short career to date. But the right-back won’t let his latest setback – a niggling calf injury – stand in the way of his desire to succeed at Rangers.

He has been advised to stay in Scotland for treatment and so is currently absent from the Ibrox club’s training camp in Germany. But he is confident of securing a place in the Rangers first XI sooner rather than later, whether that means ousting current Ibrox right-back James Tavernier or otherwise.

Dujon Sterling during a Rangers training session last week. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

There is an alternative arrangement that might suit both men as well as resurrecting an old Tavernier-Sterling connection. Sterling used to play on the right with Tavernier’s brother Marcus for England Under-19s, including when they won the European Championships in 2017.

Although Sterling scored in the final against Portugal, it was Tavernier who played further forward at right-wing. Maybe older brother James can do something similar? “He’s got that scoring gene, ain’t he?” grinned Sterling during his unveiling at Rangers.

It might be a tactic Beale is considering, although he will also know all about the player's versatility. He worked with Sterling when he was a youth coach at Chelsea and made an impression on him then. Sterling's admiration for the Ibrox manager has only grown in recent weeks.

“Already on the pitch you can see his tactical brain is genius,” he said. “I ain’t got nothing else, he’s just a genius. He goes into so much detail. He probably has so many things rattling around in his brain, but you can see everything is specific…I can just feel a special connection between us.”

After such a trying time, one imagines Beale was a big attraction about joining Rangers and finally cut the umbilical cord to Chelsea. Sterling has been loaned to four different clubs, including most recently Stoke City, without making a top team appearance at Stamford Bridge.

He is making up for lost time after suffering a debilitating illness during the first wave of the recent pandemic that meant he barely played for 18 months.

“It was difficult, especially coming back because you lose that yard of speed and the power,” he reflected. “That’s me, my game. Everything is powerful. Trying to get back to it was difficult, it took a bit of time. It didn’t feel right at first. So I stopped and worked on it again.

“Then, going on loan to Blackpool, that was what got my confidence back up. Neil Critchley put trust in me. I’d been out of the game for two years and everyone's thinking: ‘Where’s Dujon?’

“No-one had heard of me or saw what was happening. I didn’t let it out in the Press and Chelsea didn’t either. When I went to Blackpool, it was one of the best times in my life.”