Rangers manager Graeme Murty has wished Danny Wilson well after confirmation of his transfer to MLS side Colorado Rapids came in the other day.
With speculation rife that he was set for a departure this month and America being his most likely destination, Wilson is an academy graduate who rejoined us five years after his original departure to Liverpool.
During his first spell at the club he made 24 appearances following his debut as a 17 year old and he scored one goal. He left having played his part in securing both the league title and League Cup. His second spell beginning in 2015 saw him made a further 87 appearances with five goals returned, and he helped us to the SPFL Championship.
Wilson was in his final months of his contract and Murty told the Official Site that he didn’t feel he could stand in his way given the circumstances.
‘Danny found it very difficult in the circumstances previous to my own appointment, he wasn`t in the squad and he felt as though he wasn`t going to be in the long term plans of the squad so he decided to look elsewhere. I came in and he came into the squad and I have to say I thought he was fantastic for us, he did a fantastic job, scored vital goals and stood up to big challenges and won big games for us.’
Murty went on to say.
‘He decided that he had an option that he`d worked really hard to get for himself and his family in a different place. We had a bit of a heart to heart; he and I sat down for 40 minutes chatting about his options. He knows what I think of him as a person and as a player but he has decided that he and his family would benefit from a new challenge. I couldn`t hand on heart stand in the way of him, I could if I wanted to say to Danny no you are going to honour your contract, you are going to see it out until the end of the season but in good conscience I couldn`t sit across from him and tell him I was prepared to do that.’
Adding.
‘I want the players to be happy, I want the players to be content and I want the players to be pushing and striving to make this place better. Danny felt his heart was away from the place and I thought it was better for all concerned to let him go and explore that. As we stand I am happy with the options we have, we have brought Russell Martin in, we have Ross coming back from injury, we have David Bates who has gone from strength to strength, we have Fabio Cardoso and we have Bruno Alves returning from injury. We have options there and you never know someone might come in for another one of our centre-halves and that would necessitate a change in policy from us.’
