According to the latest reports from Football Scotland, Rangers are interested in signing Charlton Atheltic defender Patrick Bauer in the summer. Bauer was recently in the limelight as he scored a late winner against Sunderland in the playoff finals which earned Charlton a way back into the Championship.
Along with the Gers, Scottish outfit, Hibernian are also said to be interested in the German defender. From England, clubs like Preston, Hull, Blackburn, Wigan, QPR and Millwall are said to be in the mix. Bauer is set to be out of contract in the next few days, and he is going to be available on a free transfer.
The 26-year-old came up from Stuttgart’s academy but only made two appearances for them at the senior level. He later moved to Portuguese top flight club Maritimo where he managed to establish himself in the first team before earning a move to English side Charlton Atheltic in 2015.
Why Rangers need a defender?
Rangers have been after a defender for quite some time, but Gerrard is yet to get his hand on one. They were linked with Edson Mexer, but the experienced defender went on to join Ligue 1 outfit, Bordeaux. Currently, they have been strongly linked with English defender George Edmundson, but Oldham are playing hardball at the moment.
The Gers have lost the services of Joe Worrall and Gareth McAuley as their contract expired. Currently, Gerrard only has two central defenders in his repertoire in the form of Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic. With Europa League qualifiers set to start early, the manager would be keen to bring on a new defender soon.
Is Bauer worth signing?
Charlton Atheltic had the best defensive record in the League Two last season as they qualified to the Championship by winning the playoffs. Bauer played a massive role for his side in defence as he made 39 appearances for them in all competitions.
Not blessed with too much pace, Bauer has the physical side to his game to take on the challenges of the Premiership. Moreover, he has a decent amount of experience under his belt, having played in three different leagues across Europe.
Bauer’s reading of the game and positional sense is impressive, and on a free transfer, he would definitely be a top signing for Rangers. We expect Charlton to offer him a chance to extend his contract. There is no doubt that even Charlton fans would want him to stay as he scored their most important goal of the season. Rangers might need to do some persuasion to get him as other Championship clubs are also interested. In our opinion, Gerrard should try everything to get the German defender to Ibrox.
