Leon Balogun issues Rangers contract talks update after Hearts win in place of Connor Goldson
Leon Balogun wants to stay at Rangers but still doesn’t know if he will be offered a new deal at Ibrox, the defender has admitted.
The centre-back’s contract expires in the summer and he is hoping that his impressive performance in the 2-0 victory over Hearts to book a place in the Scottish Cup final against Celtic may lead to discussions over extending his stay, but has confirmed that talks have yet to start.
And after unhappiness over his previous exit from the club under Giovanni van Bronckhorst in 2022 [The Beautiful Game Podcast] he would like to find out his future earlier this time, but with a month let until the campaign concludes at Hampden he remains in the dark for now.
Balogun said, via the Daily Record (23 April): “I hope so. Has there been talks on my future? Not yet. I really don’t know what will happen. I think those decisions will be made within the club within the next few weeks.
“I hope I get a notification a bit more timely than the last time around! I would like to think I can be quite positive, touching on the manager choosing me on Sunday, but I can’t really tell you – I don’t know yet.”
Ally McCoist branded the Nigerian international undroppable after his towering performance against Hearts, claiming that for Goldson to return to the line up it would now have to be in place of John Souttar in stead [Daily Record, 22 April].
Has Rangers defender proven his worth to Philippe Clement?
If Balogun was a few years younger he would almost certainly be in line for a contract extension, but it seems that the fact he is turning 36 in two months’ time may be causing the club to hesitate.
One impressive performance at Hampden won’t be enough to convince Philippe Clement but if he stays in the line up between now and the end of the season and maintains that level it would surely be difficult to let him walk.
There was a decent argument for Balogun to be restored to the starting XI some time prior to the weekend with Goldson’s form patchy this season, but the manager held off using him at all after the facial fracture he suffered in February, despite having started him for all but one of the SPFL fixtures through November and December.
Although it seems unlikely the Goldson will be leaving in the summer and Souttar has finally established himself this season, Ben Davies and Leon King are both tipped to move on.
And while a deal to bring in Harry Souttar could be revisited after it proved impossible in January there is plenty of merit in keeping a dependable veteran in the squad.
Despite being a number of years Goldson’s senior Balogun has arguably shown fewer signs of age so far, although the former admittedly has featured in far more games.
And the older man has made clear his affection for Rangers so even a one-year extension would likely be a satisfying outcome.
In other Rangers news, the Light Blues are certain to get a 25-league-goal boost from a “really good” transfer option this summer.
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