Connor Goldson and Rangers is a transfer saga that has been going on since Steven Gerrard was officially announced as the new boss of Rangers. The Gers made an opening bid of £1.5 million a couple of weeks ago. Last week, The Argus reported that Albion had knocked back a new offer believed to be around the £2 million mark. Now it seems the clubs have agreed a deal in the region of £3.5 million for the English centre-half.
Gerrard and his assistant Gary McAllister are keen to make Goldson part of their Rangers team as they build from the back.
£3.5million is a bargain
If the fee that of £3.5 million is right for Goldson, that is an absolute bargain. The centre-half is only 25-years-old and is in his prime so to let him go for anything less than £5 million does not add up. So this all adds to a very clever signing from Steven Gerrard who would have seen him play when doing coverage for BT Sport.
Why is the move great for Goldson?
The move is a great one for Goldson. The centre-half has really struggled to get any game time since Shane Duffy arrived from Blackburn Rovers a couple of seasons ago. This has seen Goldson’s action this season limited to FA Cup and the Carabao Cup and just the one appearance in the 4-0 defeat to Chelsea at The Amex, where he played as part of a back three with both Duffy and Lewis Dunk.
This move is exactly for Goldson needs, as he will be a key player for Rangers and will be playing in front of 50,000 at Ibrox and will also be playing European football all whilst working with the Liverpool legends like Gary McAllister and Steven Gerrard. The move will also give Goldson the chance to link up with his former Brighton teammate Jamie Murphy who made his permanent move to Rangers this summer.
What will Rangers be getting for their money
So the big question is for £3.5 million what exactly are Rangers getting in Connor Goldson. What they are getting is a great defender who only young at just 25. He has also been trained to play the passing football since joining Brighton meaning he is comfortable on the ball, even in one of the best leagues in the world against talented teams such as Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool etc. This is something which he has really improved since joining Brighton as when he joined, Goldson just launched the ball forward and looked uncomfortable on the ball.
He is also great in the air both defensively and offensively which means he can deal with a big target man. He is also a real handful for both set pieces and corners and he has chipped in with a goal against Coventry City in the FA Cup fifth round.
Obviously as well, he is a good all-around no-nonsense defender who is willing to put in a firm tackle and to show the opposition he is there and not to be messed with. This again is something Goldson has worked on, especially now the Seagulls are in the top-flight, in one of the physically demanding leagues in the world, where you need to be physically fit and also willing to put yourself about a bit to remind the opposition to be careful who they are dealing with.
If Goldson is so great why did he not break into Brighton’s first team?
As mentioned above shortly after Goldson joined Brighton, Duffy came in and that provided Goldson with stern competition to try and compete with him and Dunk for one of the two centre-half palaces.
Unfortunately, he never really nailed down a starting place as he only came in when one of Duffy or Dunk were injured and the cup games. This was a bit of a shame as he has been a great player when he has played, but as mentioned above never good enough to keep Duffy or Dunk out the side for long periods.
With the deal looking set to be all but confirmed at some point next week, it will be sad to see such a popular player like Goldson leave the club, but he will certainly be able to get game time and further his career at Rangers.
