Daniel Feliciano

Wed 12 July 2023 15:10, UK

Official Rangers club partner Heart and Hand have admitted that they believe the signing of Leon Balogun is a “strange one” after his return was announced.

The Nigerian international has returned to Ibrox on a one-year-deal, just one year after being released by Giovanni van Bronckhorst and joining Michael Beale at Queens Park Rangers.

The veteran has been brought back after young Leon King suffered a serious injury, but despite the context surrounding the deal the podcast still believe it’s an odd deal.

“I loved big Leon and this will purely be for cover in an emergency after King’s injury but still seems a strange one,” they wrote on their personal Twitter account (12 July).

Sensible

While it’s easy to see why this may be considered an odd deal for some, to us it seems like a far more sensible deal on the surface of things.

Balogun is a player who knows the pressures and demands of Rangers well, and he also knows the manager better than most having worked with him as an assistant during his first stint at Ibrox and then in the Championship during his first job as the number one boss.

Now Rangers need help in their defensive areas because of a long-term injury, and that won’t have been accounted for in the budget.

So bringing in someone that knows the club and manager well and won’t take long to settle in, as well as the fact that he will be on low wages and there’s no transfer fee makes it a smart bit of business on short notice.

Everyone will be happy to see him, the manager knows what to expect and fans get a familiar face to get behind. Everyone is happy.

In other Rangers news, player set to leave on loan amid return from pre-season training camp.