Chris Sutton raises voice at Darrell Currie as Rangers return mooted for Leon Balogun
Chris Sutton lost it with Darrell Currie for suggesting that Rangers should be looking to re-sign Leon Balogun after he was released at the end of last season.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst is short of options at centre-back and Balogun, 34, remains a free agent and was in the stands at Ibrox for the draw with PSV this week.
The Gers have found themselves exposed at the back at times in Europe this season.
But even though it was only a hypothetical conversation about Balogun coming back, Sutton wasn’t too happy.
“I think Ally spoke about after the game about maybe bringing Balogun back,” Sutton said on Scottish Football Extra on Friday night (19 August), as shown by BT Sport’s Twitter account.
“I don’t necessarily think that’s the answer but I think it’s a clear problem.
“If van Bronckhorst didn’t want Balogun, you can’t criticise him for not signing him on again.
“It’s a Champions League qualifier, these games are really, really tough.
“When you get through to the latter stages, it’s never going to be easy and PSV are a decent side.”
When host Currie pointed out that Balogun was at Ibrox watching the game and is still available as a free agent, Sutton raised his voice, saying: “So what?
“Maybe he was just watching a football match.”
Calm down, Chris
Someone slept on the wrong side of the bed last night, didn’t they?
Sutton has defended van Bronckhorst’s decision to release Balogun and seems to be asserting that the Dutchman won’t change his mind one bit over the Nigerian.
But all that was suggested was should he change his mind and could he?
Of course he could. Whether or not he should is up for debate.
Balogun had his moments with Rangers but on the whole, he was a solid operator for the Gers.
We can see why he was released as van Bronckhorst and Ross Wilson probably wanted to breathe some fresh life into the squad with Balogun now aged 34.
But if that’s the case, why did they extend deals for Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield?
Rangers have done some good business this summer but Calvin Bassey simply hasn’t been replaced with anyone anywhere near as good as him.
Balogun won’t be any better either.
In other Rangers news, this Ibrox star has been dubbed as a realistic late summer signing for Aston Villa.