Connor Goldson is a man under pressure.
The laissez faire attitude to his contract situation is one that continues to frustrates Rangers fans, there seems to be a want from his side to get something sorted but, as yet, nobody has really confirmed what the hold up is.
The player himself admitted, speaking to BT Sport, that he wants the club to progress and, maybe, in a similar fashion to Steven Gerrard, was frustrated at the lack of investment in the summer but when asked if Rangers was the club he wanted to stay at he said:
“Yeah, it is.
“I’ve said this a lot of times before. But at the same time I want to see the club go to the next level.
“As I’ve said before, I want the club to win 56, 57 and 58.
“I don’t want to be remembered just for 55.
“It is a place I want to stay but it needs to be right for me and my family.
“We’ve got another baby coming, a little baby boy. So it needs to be right for everyone, it’s not just about me.
“Hopefully it can all get sorted sooner rather than later.”
The issue we have is that we can’t afford to stand still and wait for Goldson to make his decision, Ross Wilson has to be proactive in identifying possible replacements and, at Vital Rangers, we have already discussed John Souttar’s impending availability, he, unlike the Gers vice-captain is unlikely to stay put.
For those who may be unsure as to what he would bring to the club, analyst Patrick Caskie produced a visual comparing Souttar to Goldson with statistics adjusted based on possession to give a more accurate reflection.
— Patrick Caskie (@patrickcaskie) November 16, 2021
For all that some fans might be reticent about Souttar being acquired as a direct replacement for Goldson seeing as you’d, potentially, have one player who never misses a minute of training leaving the club with one who has missed as many games as he has played over the last few years coming in as a substitute.
Personally, I still think Danilho Doekhi would be the best player to sign should Goldson decide to leave but this visual shows that we should go for Souttar as well, he’s a clear upgrade on Jack Simpson and – although many won’t want to hear it – is better than Niko Katic too, he would also help the UEFA home grown quota at the club.
It’s going to be an interesting few months with regards to contracts, player transfers and the fixture list we have before the winter break, let’s hope, as Goldson wishes, that we are heading for the “next level” by the time the window opens.