I sometimes get the impression that Ross Wilson is miles ahead of us all when it comes to securing players without having to pay a fee.
As reported by The Athletic, there is no apparent rush to sell Connor Goldson or indeed, get him signed up to a new contract, this can mean only one of two things; they think he’s going to extend sooner, rather than later or, they already have a replacement lined up.
The similarities between the position Rangers find themselves in and Vitesse Arnhem do with Danilho Doekhi is quite eerie, both clubs have their number one centre-half sitting with less than 12 months to run on their current contracts and yet one is captain of their club and the other is vice-captain.
Vital Rangers covered the Dutch Under-21 cap’s comments on his promotion to captain in which he revealed that it isn’t a move designed to keep him at the club, nor is it one that would stop him from moving should the opportunity come along.
At 23-years old, with 100 senior appearances to his name, Doekhi is the perfect fit to replace Goldson but if we aren’t going to get a fee for our own player, why should we shell out one for his replacement – if he decides to leave at the end of the season?
In January Rangers will be able to approach Doekhi about a pre-contract agreement just as Goldson will be able to talk to other clubs too, given how our sporting director operates, it wouldn’t surprise me if he has already made the relevant parties aware of our interest and what we would be willing to offer – that we were linked with John Lundstram a long time before the deal was actually announced gives an indication of how patient he can be.
Losing Goldson for free would be a blow but we have had a pretty decent return for our £3million investment, not every player that leaves has to be sold for a profit, if, we can get the next man in for free, especially if they have even greater potential to make us money further down the line.