According to the latest reports from the Scottish Sun, Rangers’ chase for Oldham Athletic’s defender George Edmundson could be dead as the English club are demanding over £1m for their centre back. Rangers had three bids turned down, and they went up as high as £600,000. The Gers are unlikely to make a move now until the Latics bring their asking price down.
Rangers are said to be open to looking at alternative options now. The Gers have been after a centre back in the past few months, but they have yet to land anybody. They tried to bring in an experienced defender in the form of Edson Mexer, but he went on to join Ligue 1 outfit, Bordeaux.
Edmundson at 21, was the mainstay of Oldham’s defence last season as he made a whopping 54 appearances in all competitions. The English defender is set to enter into the final year of his contract and has attracted plenty of interest in the transfer market from English clubs as well. Edmundson handed in a transfer request not too long ago, but Oldham are clearly playing hardball and are trying to extract as much as they can for their prized talent.
Why Rangers need a defender?
The Gers have lost the services of Joe Worrall who returned to Nottingham Forest after his loan deal expired. Gareth McAuley might not have made much impact last season, but his contract also is close to running down in a few days. Therefore Gerrard is only left with Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic as the two senior centre back options.
With the Europa League qualifiers starting earlier than the league games, the manager would love to add a defender sooner rather than later.
Has Gerrard taken the right call by shutting down the pursuit for Edmundson?
Edmundson might have had an impressive season for the Latics, but he is mostly inexperienced and is yet to be tested at a higher level. Oldham finished 14th in the League Two and did nothing much of note. Playing for Rangers will require mental strength as well as footballing ability.
The fact that he hasn’t been tested at a tougher level makes us believe that Gerrard made the right call by not offering more than £600,000. The Englishman is also in the final year of his contract, so it didn’t make sense to offer close to £1m for him. It’s time for Gerrard to look at other plausible options now.
