James Wood

Tue 2 February 2021 19:45, UK

George Edmundson has left Rangers until the end of the season after agreeing a loan move to Derby County in the Championship.

The defender, 23, has struggled for game time this season under Steven Gerrard. He fell down the pecking after the arrival of Leon Balogun.

Along with Jordan Jones, Edmundson was handed a seven-match ban for breaching Covid rules in November. He hasn’t been near the first team since the 5-1 defeat of Motherwell in September.

This is his second chance and he knows it.

Speaking to RamsTV, Edmundson said he wants to improve and show fans what he can do.

“I’m really pleased to be here and I am just glad we could get the deal done,” Edmundson said.

“Normally with loan moves, certain players just look to get game time, but I’m not treating it like that. I am here to show what I can do, not just get minutes.

“I obviously want to improve, but I am here to play good football and show what I can do.”

Now or never 

A loan move was definitely the best outcome for all concerned parties.

Edmundson has been starved of first-team action since joining Rangers from Oldham in 2019. Overall, the defender has made just 16 appearances for the blues, just two of those coming in the 2020/21 campaign.

During his four years at Oldham, he made 76 appearances and was named in the League Two team of the year for 2018/19. There is undoubtedly a good centre half in him, but he’s had few opportunities at Ibrox.

Admittedly, the Englishman hasn’t helped himself. He stupidly got himself banned for seven games whilst not being near the team anyway.

Steven Gerrard was never going to tolerate such behaviour.

It’ll be interesting to see what sort of form Edmundson can produce under Wayne Rooney at Derby. A clean slate is just what the defender needs, and with the Rams in a relegation fight, he could be chucked straight into the side.

This could be the move that saves his career at Rangers.

In other Gers news, this defender has unfortunately been ruled out for the season.