According to the latest reports from the Scottish Sun, Rangers are set to wrap up the signing of Oldham Athletic’s centre back George Edmundson after weeks of haggling. The player is set to have his medical today after the Gers tabled a third and final offer which did the trick.
Portsmouth and Peterborough United were also in the race, but the Scottish heavyweights have managed to beat both the League One outfits. The defender had made it clear that he wanted a move to Ibrox so that probably helped Gerrard in defeating the English clubs to Edmundson’s signature.
Why was this signing a necessity?
The Gers have been after a centre back for quite a few weeks now. They have been linked with a handful of defenders, but nothing had materialised as the time went by. It seemed that they would miss out on Edmundson as well, but Rangers stepped up their efforts in the last few days to seal the deal. With Joe Worrall and Gareth McAuley’s contract expiring, it was important for the club to sign a new defender soon with Europa League qualifiers set to start early.
Edmundson’s Pros
The defender won a lot of praises for his performance even though his side finished 14th in the League two. Edmundson was named in League Two’s team of the season. The 21-year-old played a whopping 54 games for his side in all competitions, and at a young age, he was a leading figure at the back.
That has been Gerrard’s style of defenders as he has tried to bring in vocal centre backs who would lead the backline and keep it organised. Connor Goldson, Joe Worrall and Gareth McAuley all were very vocal at the back when they played. We can expect the same from Edmundson as well. The Englishman has that physical strength which is often necessary to thrive in the Scottish Premiership. Edmundson is also known to be good in the air and a smart reader of the game.
Edmundson’s Cons
We are not yet sure about Edmundson’s ability to play out from the back. He was not known to be a great passer at Oldham. His lack of experience at the top level could also be a concern for Rangers. The pressure of playing for the Light Blues and trying to win every game is not something which the defender would be used to while playing for the Latics.
Quite a few talented players have found it hard in the past to settle in at the club so it remains to be seen how that would go as Edmundson has only played in th English fourth tier.
