Born on a grey, nondescript day of 23 September 1993, somewhere in the flat expanses of the Netherlands, Robin Pröpper emerged into this brutal world. As a fully grown individual he reaches 1.92m (6ft 3in) off the ground and is a solid 83kg (13st) worth of flesh and bone. This Dutch defender primarily packs himself into the central defender role for Rangers, strutting around in the Number 4 jersey like some kind of footballing matador.
A rather reliable source, Transfermarkt, insists that he's worth around €2.50m (roughly £2m). Surely in this day and age, a moderately handy footballer - even one who spends most of his time stopping goals rather than scoring them - should be worth a least a bit more than a small, neat bungalow on the outskirts of Aberdeen?
Anyway, casting our gaze back to July 2011, a young Pröpper hopped onto a Dutch bandwagon rolling under the name of 'De Graafschap' in the Eerste Divisie in the aforementioned flat country. His four seasons spent with De Graafschap were nothing short of ordinary: 109 appearances and a grand total of 8 goals. Inspiring stuff, indeed.
Clearly not having had his fill of the Dutch windmill landscape, Pröpper transferred to Heracles Almelo in the Eredivisie in 2016. In his five-season spell at Heracles, he made 97 appearances with a mighty 4 goals. Upon reflection, perhaps our Rob is one of those footballers - the type that simply loves the 'beautiful game' rather than the thrill of glory.
The vagabond defender then meandered his way over to FC Twente in 2021, also in the Eredivisie. After three seasons with Twente, making 95 appearances and scoring a whopping 9 goals (not to be sniffed at for a defender, granted), the call of the wild - well, Glasgow - proved too strong and Rangers became his new home in August of 2024.
Oh yes, the fee for Propper's undeniable talent? A cool £1.5m. Pocket change in today's ludicrously inflated football market.
At present, in the 2024 - 2025 season, with his feet firmly on the Scottish soil, Propper has pranced his way through 23 first team appearances and has graciously gifted the net with two goals. His time at Rangers has so far seen outings in the League Cup, Scottish Cup, Champions League Qualifiers, and the Europa League. A busy schedule indeed.
In all seriousness, though, let's give the chap a break. As far as central defenders go, he's done a decent job. There's no shame in what Pröpper has accomplished thus far. Not everyone can be a Larsson or a Moravcik, after all.
