Dion Rankine – Welcome to Wigan Athletic

At last… a player that we were actually rumoured with prior to his arrival! Latics have done a fantastic job of keeping things under wraps this summer, with the signings of Michael Olakigbe and Calvin Ramsay coming out of nowhere, and while that’s all well and good from a secrecy point of view it does make getting these articles out in good time bloody tough!

So… whoever released the photo of Dion Rankine, a 21-year-old winger who has come through the Chelsea academy, getting his photo taken at the DW Brick Community Stadium on Wednesday afternoon… thank you!

While the initial idea among fans and media seemed to be that the move would be a temporary one, it has in fact transpired that Rankine arrives from the Premier League giants on a permanent deal, signing a three-year deal with Latics.

That really does elevate this signing for me, because he’s a player that is still a way off becoming the player he can be, and the player I’d want him to be if he was only here short term. The fact we now have him for a good stint means we can prioritise development initially and take the pressure to perform immediately away from him. He’s in it for the long run with the club, and that’s great.

He’s a wide player with electric pace and bags of enthusiasm, but is still piecing his remarkable physical attributes together with a far more raw technical skillset. He spent last season on loan at Exeter City, and after struggling to find a level of consistency at the beginning of the campaign he finished it really strongly. His development was clear to see, but there’s still a way to go.

In this, and every ‘Welcome to Wigan Athletic’ article that I post this summer, I’ll be taking a closer look at all aspects of the new signing’s game. Their profile, where they’ve played before and how they’ve performed, their suitability to our club and our style of play, and a report on their best attributes as well of areas of their game that could hold them back. As best I can I’m going to try and provide you, the valued reader, with the best possible idea of what to expect from our recruits.

And as there’s no time like the present, here we go. Dion Rankine, you’re up to bat. Let’s see what you’ve got!

Profile

Strengths

I think it’s fair to say that his standout quality, and in truth the attribute that has allowed him to play at the level he has done already in his career, is his blistering pace. Throughout his time in Chelsea’s academy he was acknowledged by coaches, both from his own team and the opposition, for having an incredible mixture of acceleration and top speed. Interestingly in 2021, two years before he joined Exeter under Gary Caldwell, the then Grecians boss Matt Taylor was extremely complimentary of Rankine’s physical profile.

“That right-sided wing-back, he looked absolutely lightning,” were his words, and having watched plenty of footage of Rankine over the last 24 hours I can confirm he was absolutely spot on. When he gets going it genuinely is a sight to behold, and what I like is in the more recent clips he seems to be using his unique natural talent far more effectively and efficiently.

It’s all well and good being quick, but football is won by doing great things with the ball. Rankine was guilty of being excruciatingly wasteful with his end product at times last season, and we’ll touch on that later, but towards the end of last season he seemed to have developed a new level of understanding in his own body. And the key to that, particularly when it came to releasing the ball in the final third, was simple. He started slowing down.

As a right wing back for Exeter he was tasked with progressing the ball when counter attacking, and became the team’s main outlet on the break. He used his pace to breeze past defenders with ease, and it’s worth mentioning he’s actually a pretty effective dribbler when it comes to beating a man. There’s a nice blend of skills and maneuverers, as well as the good old fashioned kick and run technique that he’s, unsurprisingly, very suited to.

But what I’ve liked is how he’s developed his game in the final third. When doing things at high speed it’s far more likely that you fail to execute a technical action that has such a great margin for error. By slowing down his running speed as he approached the ball in the final third he gives himself a chance to assess his options and make sure his pass, cross or shot is executed as well as possible.

Continuing that development will be vital if he’s going to increase his output next season. In terms of 1v1 take on ability we’ve potentially signed one of the most exciting in the EFL, but I want him to become one of the most exciting players in the EFL full stop. He has all of the raw attributes to grow into a top player, it’s just about piecing it all together as quickly and effectively as possible.

Limitations

I’ve touched on it already, but it doesn’t take a genius to spot that Dion Rankine is still very early on in the development of his technical and tactical game. It is worth saying that you don’t graduate through the Chelsea academy without having a good base level of ability, especially on the ball, but equally he has work to do in that department before I’d say he’s at the levels required to play regularly in our system.

It is slightly hard to judge Rankine solely on his loan spell at Exeter because they did play a pretty direct style of play that didn’t ask too much of him in possession. They played to his strengths completely, and that should be praised, because in large parts they did well to hide his limitations. He was a bit ‘jumpy’ at times on the ball, particularly when pressurised from behind.

With his back to goal he’s pretty limited, and really does need space to truly show off his quality. Working in tight zones is something I expect him to improve at greatly under Shaun Maloney and his coaching staff, because the way we play and therefore are coached has a big focus on making the players comfortable with the ball at their feet under stress. How quickly he develops that side of his game will determine how quickly he makes a real impact on our starting eleven.

Depending on where he plays for us he’ll have to develop his shooting ability, and/or his defensive work. Going forward he gets himself into shooting positions regularly, but appears to lack faith in himself when striking the ball. Scuffing underneath the ball appears to be a problem he faced a lot last season, and I do believe that is largely down to him doing things too quickly. It only requires a small change, but could have really nice results.

Defensively his main issue is an over-eagerness to engage his opponent, in turn leaving space outside of him to be beaten easily. Despite his pace, he actually looks quite slow when reacting to changes of direction as a defender, which I imagine is more of a reaction time issue than anything else. To put it bluntly I wouldn’t trust him from a defensive standpoint at all, and believe we have far better options at right wing back than him already at the club.

Rankine is a rough diamond, and there’s probably more about his game at the moment that is rough than smooth. He is 21 though, and that’s not a slight on him at all – if anything it plays into our hands more. He’s clearly a player with high potential, and the fact it hasn’t quite been realised yet makes him someone we’ve been able to attract. If we can fine tune his ball work in the final third, and teach him the tactical nuances of our system properly, he’ll be a real asset.

Potential Fit

While he can play as a right wing back, I’m very much against using him there unless absolutely necessary. We have better players in that position, and he lacks the defensive awareness to play the role effectively in my opinion. However, we could get some joy out him as a wing back / winger hybrid, similarly to how we used Jordan Jones on the left side last season. That would require what would essentially be a 180* shift in the teams set-up.

Firstly, he’d have to play ahead of Sean Clare at right back, who would become part of a back three when we’re defending. I actually think that works quite nicely, albeit creating a dilemma as to who plays left back. If he’s playing ahead of Steven Sessegnon it would also work, but less convincingly as ‘Sess’ doesn’t have the physical profile suited to taking up the positions a centre back would have to. Ahead of Calvin Ramsay would be carnage defensively, albeit incredibly exciting going forward. I really, really can’t see it working though.

With Clare behind him at right back in the 4-2-3-1 that we finished last season in it would probably look something like this, firstly with the ball and secondly without it:

While not being a direct, like for like replacement it’s hard to see this signing as anything other than a Jordan Jones alternative, or indeed replacement. We need to evolve the squad this summer, and I think Rankine will be used on the right in a similar way to how Jones was on the left.

Quality wise, and the way in which they both attack, there’s a stark difference at the moment, with Rankine very much aspiring to reach the levels the Northern Irishman did last season. First and foremost I want us to give him freedom in possession, and not load him with out of possession responsibilities immediately. Of course he needs to contribute to that side of the game, but he’s a winger and not a wing back.

Final Thoughts

Dion Rankine is the first permanent signing of the summer, and he has the potential to be a really good one. There are some things that you can’t teach as a football coach, and the ability to run 100m in near 10 seconds is one of those things. If we combine that unique natural physical talent with a more well-rounded skillset on and off the ball he’ll be a great player for us.

I am also hugely encouraged by how he ended the season with Exeter, as it hopefully gives an insight into the player we’ll inherit. Rankine definitely grew smarter as the campaign progressed, and if we can build on that development with quality coaching I have no doubt he’ll improve during his time at the club.

It’s another young player who will play a part in our first team squad, and it’s another young player who comes with a good reputation and a history of working in a Premier League club’s academy. Steven Sessegnon and Matt Smith have both been hugely successful signings and could make the club a lot of money one day. Dion Rankine may well be another.

And let’s be honest, Shaun Maloney and Gregor Rioch have earned our trust when it comes to making these kinds of signings. Also, they’re a hell of a lot more exciting than the, what used to feel like endless, recruitment of average 29-year-old EFL journeymen who didn’t offer much in the short term, and offered even less in the long term. This is an exciting signing that could prove to be a stroke of genius if everything falls into place.

Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Dion Rankine. Up the Tics!