New The Swansea Way contributor Bobby Gardiner (as yet without a snazzy title) looks at our right-back situation, and who we could look to bring in if Tiendalli continues to be frozen out
With the penultimate game of the season approaching and Rangel being injured, the issue of his long term replacement has become even more poignant. Garry Monk is left with three options for the last two games: Dwight Tiendalli, Jazz Richards and playing Neil Taylor out of position.
I get the feeling that most fans don't think that Tiendalli deserves to be in any starting line up, ever. I'm still not entirely sure how he's a professional footballer, let alone the second choice of a Premier League club. Plus, with safety guaranteed, it seems wasteful not to use the opportunity to test out one of the other two options.
There comes a point where young players can no longer be defended by their age. Jazz Richards turned 23 this month, and it's fast approaching a make or break stage for him at the club. Laudrup's lack of confidence in Swansea youth was obvious, but it wouldn't surprise anyone if Monk decides to give Jazz what could be his final opportunity to prove himself.
Inverted full backs are all the rage at the moment. The successes of Flanagan and Azpilicueta present a strong argument against any reservations about the adaptability of full backs. In Taylor's case, I've been begging for him to be used at right back since the Olympics in 2012. Still only 25, home-grown and undeniably wasted on the bench, I really want to see if he can be as solid as he was for Team GB in the Premier League.
Now, some options once the transfer window opens. To qualify for the stats comparison, these right backs had to be 23 or younger, have played at least 15 games in one of Europe's top 5 leagues and be valued at less than £3m by transfermarkt.co.uk. Without further ado, the candidates:
Youssof Sabaly is 21, a French U-20 international and currently on loan at Evian where he's played 35 times this season. He is extremely adaptable - although right footed he has regularly featured at left back. Valued at £1.3m, he could be a steal and with both Van der Wiel and Jallet at his parent club, PSG, they may be willing to let him go.
Celta Vigo's 22 year-old right back, Hugo Mallo, is valued at £2.6m and has represented Spain up to U21 level. Although suffering a cruciate ligament problem, he's managed to feature 33 times for Luis Enrique's side this season.
Mario Gaspar, 23, has played 33 times for Villarreal this campaign - their first back in the top flight of Spanish football. Like Mallo, Mario is valued at £2.6m, but the possibility of a combined deal with Jonathan de Guzman could mean a slight discount on both.
I made an exception in the price category to allow Nathaniel Clyne into the comparison. The 23 year- old is valued at £6.2m, but this is really quite low for an English full back of his age. With the emergence of Callum Chambers in his position, Clyne has played a bit-part role this season and with Southampton's transfer debt looming they may be tempted to cash in on him.
Stats time. I compared the candidates, including Rangel, in eight categories (interceptions, blocks etc) by scaling them against themselves. For example, Rangel has the highest pass completion, so his % in that stat is 100, while the others' stats are a % of his rather than a random number. At the end, the scores are averaged into a 'final score':
Rangel marginally 'wins', with Sabaly and Mallo closely following. Obviously, this is a relatively crude stat in terms of comparison but it is nonetheless useful to see how the players match up against each other. Clyne is let down quite a lot by his defending stats, which could improve with some coaching but I'm not sure I'd be entirely comfortable starting both him and Ben (whose defensive stats this year have also been rather poor). Sabaly, being the cheapest, youngest and most adaptable, is my personal pick and it's not like Huw doesn't like a bargain.
All the final scores, though, are very similar and I think every player would end up being a bargain for various reasons. Even if Jazz or Taylor don't work, it may not be too expensive to replace Swansea's guardian Angel.
'Bobby, as well as being a Jack, is co-founder of and writer for FalseIX football. For more of his work, follow him at @bobbygardiner'