The Rangers Review's Joshua Barrie has given his verdict on why Michael Beale rarely plays James Sands.

The Lowdown: Out of favour

The American defender joined the Scottish Premiership side in January of last year, signing from New York City FC on an 18-month loan deal.

Sands has featured 39 times in all competitions for Rangers since making the switch, gaining experience in the top flight as well as the Champions League.

However, in the club's last four league games, Beale has only played the 22-year-old twice. Both appearances were cameos of under 10 minutes against Kilmarnock and Celtic.

The Latest: Barrie makes Sands claim

Barrie claims that the reason for his lack of minutes is that Beale doesn't see him in his future plans and won't sign him permanently when his loan deal runs out this summer

Speaking on the latest episode of The Rangers Review, he said: "One of the factors why he's not maybe played is that Beale wants to work long-term, and if Rangers aren't going to sign Sands in the summer, then you have to question what is the benefit of him getting a run in the team? Because he's not going to be here long-term, whereas someone like Raskin is."

The Verdict: Not in Beale's plans

We believe that it's unlikely that Sands will be a Rangers player at the start of next season, as he's not seemingly in Beale's plans currently.

However, it seems that the American is well-liked by his teammates, as captain James Tavernier previously labelled him as 'great squad player' following his arrival last year (via FourFourTwo).

Sands was signed before Michael Beale took charge, so the lack of appearances in recent times may suggest that he won't stay at Ibrox beyond the end of the season.

It wouldn't come as a surprise to us if the Rangers boss looked to add a new defender to his ranks in the summer, and based on their recent transfer history, it may well be a young centre-back who has plenty of potential - arguably just as Sands was hoped to be.