As per the latest reports from the Scottish Sun, Rangers are set to complete the signing of American international Matt Polster. The defender was on trial at Ibrox and had impressed Gerrard. The deal was stalling because of work permit issues, but now the matter has been resolved which is going to open the door for the 25-year-old to sign a contract with the Glaswegian giants.
The defender used to play for Chicago Fire in the MLS, and his contract had expired with them this year. So Gerrard has again managed to sign a player for free. Polster was even involved with the team when they travelled to Tenerife for a training camp during the winter break.
Gerrard had also brought Andrew Gutman alongside Polster for trial at Rangers. However, Gutman has joined arch-rivals Celtic according to The Times (however this has not yet been independently confirmed by the club). Celtic was never in contention to sign Polster though as the 25-year-old is known to be a lifelong Liverpool fan. He considers Steven Gerrard as his idol as depicted from this picture which he took when the duo played against each other in the MLS when Gerrard was with LA Galaxy.
Polster is predominantly a right-back but can easily play in midfield as well and Gerrard is definitely getting a versatile player in this 25-year-old. The club has plenty of options in midfield, therefore, we don’t see Polster getting many chances of playing there. So it is likely that he is being seen as a right back option.
One shouldn’t expect miracles from Polster as he might take some time to settle in a new league as the American international has no experience of playing football outside of the MLS. The physicality of the Premiership might take him by surprise, so we don’t see Polster having any significant impact this season.
James Tavernier has been linked (Sky Sports) with a move away from the club but the Englishman is unlikely to leave the club mid-season (Our opinion). However, a departure in the summer could be on the cards and therefore that could be the reason why Gerrard signed another right back. The Bears also have Jon Flanagan as an option for that spot and maybe the former Liverpool fullback could be the first choice option if a situation arrives where Tavernier leaves the club.
Rangers have made some smart signing ever since Gerrard took over and the club faithful would hope that the American international can come in handy as the season goes by.
