Rangers have shown great promise under the tutelage of Steven Gerrard so far, and they have managed to turn their Achilles heel into one of their strengths. The Gers had the worst defensive record of any of the top seven sides last season, but under Gerrard, they seem to have solved that issue for now. New signings like Nikola Katic and Connor Goldson have forged a formidable partnership, and apart from the odd night against Motherwell, both of them have looked solid at the back.
But the Gers lack any decent backup option in that position, and they have been after a centre-half for quite a while now. It started from Jake Cooper to Curtis Tilt then attention turned towards Jack Simpson of Bournemouth, and now Joe Worrall of Nottingham Forest seems close to joining the Light Blues.
Jack Simpson was one of the bigger names of the lot as he is the only player in that list who currently plays for a Premier League side. Simpson has made appearances in the Premier League but is yet to establish himself in the first eleven and has been warming the bench for quite a while now. However, Eddie Howe is still not keen on sending him out on loan as he rates him highly and it seems like he feels that it is essential to keep a backup option available. Or maybe he thinks that training at the Vitality stadium might help him better in preparing for the future challenges.
There were strong rumours that Rangers were looking to sign him and with just a few days remaining in the transfer window, it seems like the English defender will stay put at Bournemouth. However, we believe it won’t be that big a miss for Gerrard and Co as long as long as they sign a backup centre-half in the transfer market.
It is looking likely that Joe Worrall, who happens to be a right-footed centre-half, would join Rangers. It is quite evident that Gerrard was keen on a left-sided centre-back and Simpson was one of those players. So it seems that Gerrard might not get his wish fulfilled.
However, to lure Simpson, the Gers would have had to offer him a regular place in the playing eleven otherwise it wouldn’t have made sense for him to leave a Premier League club and warm the benches at Rangers. The manager is evidently looking for a backup option and a player who would add competition for places. Katic and Goldson would remain the first choice centre-back pairing for a while now given the way they have started so one can understand why Howe was sceptical of sending his centre-back on loan.
Now if the Teddy bears don’t manage to pull off a centre-half signing in the last few days, then this move can come back to haunt them. They are just one step away from qualifying to the Europa League so an extra set of fixtures would require more squad depth and an injury to either of their two prefered centre-half, might hamper their season significantly. But as long as they sign someone like Worrall, they should be relatively safe and secure.
