JUNINHO CAN BE TRUE BLUE
JUNINHO BACUNA made his name playing in green and white – now he has been tipped to star in blue for Rangers.
The 24-year-old midfielder has completed a permanent switch from Huddersfield to Ibrox for an undisclosed fee.
Bacuna will be hoping he can kickstart a career that threatened to stall in West Yorkshire.
He made his Terriers move in 2018 with hopes of becoming a Premier League star.
But it proved to be a mistep, with the former Groningen ace failing to show the full extent of the talents that saw him burst on to the scene in Holland as a powerful 17-year-old brimming with potential.
Ex-Groningen hero Jan Mennega reckons Bacuna made the wrong move in joining the English topflight strugglers.
Huddersfield were relegated at the end of his first season and have spent the last two years battling just to stay in the second tier.
But Mennenga believes Steven Gerrard can help the Dutch-born Curacao international rediscover the form that saw him make such a major impact when he broke into the Green-White Army’s firstteam ranks in 2015.
He told Record Sport: “In Groningen he played in green and white – now I think he can do well in blue in Glasgow.
“Juninho was a big talent when he left for Huddersfield.
“He was a young guy with a lot of potential.
“I remember before he moved to England that his name was mentioned in relation to a move to some of the big teams in Holland.
“Maybe they had some interest in him but there was never a deal.
“Then he went to Huddersfield but if it was me, I would not have made that move.
“Huddersfield were a team that were fighting to stay in the Premier League. They were not a very good side at that time, so when you’re a young player, going into that kind of situation is not good for your progression.
“You can’t develop as a young player when you’re fighting to stay alive.
“It’s better to develop in a better team that does not have so much pressure.
“So Rangers would be a better move for Juninho now. I know if you asked me when I was playing, I’d have liked to have gone to Ibrox, not Huddersfield.”
Light Blues boss Gerrard has been keen to bulk up his options in the centre of midfield as he looks to spare key men Steven Davis, Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo a repeat of the heavy workload they were forced to graft through last year.
Ibrox sporting director Ross Wilson identified Bacuna as the perfect candidate to help lessen the burden on last term’s title-winning heroes.
And Mennega insists that while Bacuna grew up in Holland’s technicallysavvy Eredivisie, the ex-Dutch youth cap will have no problem coping with the rough and tumble of Scottish football.
Mennega added: “He is a dynamic player but not a big creator on the pitch.
“He can play in all sorts of positions. In Groningen he would be used in many different roles, a lot like his brother Leandro who plays for Cardiff now.
“Juninho sometimes played as the first striker but also on the wings and even the midfield.
“He has the physique needed to handle Scottish football.”