Rangers are ready to fight tooth and nail to keep their veteran centre-back Bruno Alves from leaving. The 36-year-old is wanted by Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes, however, the Gers are ready to fight off the interest. Alves is currently with the Portugal squad and it is likely that his future will be decided after the World Cup is over.
Alves has his contract at the Ibrox up until 2019 and the Gers will be hopeful that the experienced centre-back will see out his contract. Vitoria Guimaraes have also been put off by the asking price of the defender and it seems that they will have to wait for another year to acquire his services.
The Portuguese earns £28,000 a week and Guimaraes’ top earner earns around a quarter of that amount. Their only hope of getting him is currently dependent on the Gers terminating his contract a year early which is highly unlikely. A centre back like Alves will certainly be in Steven Gerrard’s plan for the upcoming season and the Gers will definitely use him in the heart of the defence.
The Portuguese is in the fag end of his career but can still turn out to be a handy option for Gerrard. Alves had a below par season last term as he played just 25 games for his side. Rangers had the worst defensive record of any of the top 7 sides as they conceded 50 goals. It is clear that the team is in need of defensive stability and there will certainly be some new acquisitions to improve the squad and increase the options of the new manager.
Teddy bears are close to securing the services of 25-year-old Brighton and Hove Albion defender Connor Goldson and it is expected that he will start in defence in the upcoming season. it remains to be seen whether the Gers will go for another centre-back in the transfer market. However, it seems highly unlikely as they are already spending close to £3.5m on Goldson.
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Alves joined in the summer of last year only from Italian outfit Cagliari and the Gers management team will be hoping that their player will see out his contract. A substantial offer from the Portuguese outfit might tempt the Gers to sell him as it will free up the high wages which they are spending on the experienced defender. However, at the moment, Gers are short on defensive options and they cannot let Alves leave by terminating his contract.
