By Joe Ellis

24th Sep, 2022 | 10:36am

Rangers should start January fire sale with Filip Helander exit

There are a few too many players at Rangers right now who are not pulling their weight or not good enough to be regulars in any capacity.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst will have to use the World Cup break in November to deeply analyse every single member of his squad and the talent at Auchenhowie that could come in to replace them ahead of the January window.

One player who should be among the very first to leave in the winter window, if an offer arrives, is Swedish international Filip Helander.

The 29-year-old has been injured all season so far and has therefore not played a minute of football but it was a similar story last season too as Calvin Bassey and Leon Balogun jumped him in the pecking order.

Those two have since left the club but been replaced by John Souttar and Ben Davies, both of whom are also now injured.

Leon King is the one who is really threatening Helander’s Rangers future having stepped into the side and looked exceptional so far in some very tough games.

The Swede’s contract expires at the end of the 2022-23 season which makes him available on a free transfer in the summer but he can start talking to clubs in January if he wants to.

It would be very smart to try and get him either sold or loaned out before then though to ensure some form of monetary gain comes in for the Light Blues.

He isn’t the only player who could be in danger of getting the axe at Ibrox with plenty of under-performing individuals under pressure to keep their careers alive at Auchenhowie.

In other Rangers news, King’s contract doesn’t expire for another year yet but that isn’t likely to stop the club from engaging in talks to keep the teen in Glasgow.