Rangers still want to sign Jonathan Panzo after Leon Balogun return, £2.5m gets deal done
Rangers are still in talks with Nottingham Forest to sign Jonathan Panzo despite the return of Leon Balogun, according to Football Scotland.
The online news outlet reported on their website that talks are still ongoing between the clubs (15 July), although little progress has been made in recent days with Rangers in Germany.
But despite the return of Balogun to Ibrox earlier this week, Michael Beale is still keen to add another defender to his squad and the club are aware that Panzo will cost £2.5m.
“Jonathan Panzo’s proposed move to Rangers this summer is still being worked on by both clubs,” they wrote.
“The Nottingham Forest defender is wanted by Michael Beale to add to his defensive options even after Leon Balogun arrived on a free transfer earlier this week.
“Football Scotland understands the switch has not advanced much further this week with Gers still aware of the £2.5million fee it is likely to take to land the Englishman.
“The player’s salary has also been put to the Ibrox club but there has been no real movement while Beale and co have been in Germany for their pre-season training camp.”
Nothing changed
It’s not a surprise to read that Beale still wants Panzo in central defence when you consider the circumstances in which Balogun was brought back to the club.
There was no interest in the Nigerian defender prior to a serious injury suffered by Leon King, which meant that the options the club have at the back were limited even further.
As it stands Connor Goldson, John Souttar, Ben Davies and Balogun are the central defender options but the latter is 36-years-old, while the other three have all had their share of injury issues in recent times.
Beale doesn’t want to be left short and has clearly identified Panzo as a prime target to strengthen the defence, but with pre-season now underway and the team away those talks have taken a back seat for now.
Once the team returns to Glasgow it’s likely that talks will pick up once again, and with the club working to sell some players too that extra cash could see some movement in talks too.
In other Rangers news, another Gers ace could see his Ibrox career end as Spanish clubs show an interest.