Connor Goldson edges closer to Rangers exit after Sky Sports footage emerges at Auchenhowie
Connor Goldson could be edging towards a Rangers exit this summer after Sky Sports cameras noticed he wasn’t in training ahead of the clash with Kilmarnock.
The influential central defender was dropped from the starting lineup by Philippe Clement for the Scottish FA Cup semi-final at Hampden Park and hasn’t featured since, with Leon Balogun and John Souttar preferred in wins over Hearts and St Mirren.
Those victories arrested a poor run of form that saw the team conceded their advantage in the title race to Celtic, and they now face a battle to get back to the top of the SPFL table.
But with Goldson seemingly unavailable for the weekend clash with Kilmarnock at Ibrox (5 May), a decision about the 31-year-old’s long-term future at the club becomes a bit easier to make.
Connor Goldson to leave Rangers for Saudi Arabia?
There has been strong interest from Saudi Arabia and former manager Steven Gerrard in particular, with a double swoop for both Goldson and James Tavernier mooted this summer.
Clement has publicly denied any interest in letting his veteran pair of defenders leave the club, insisting it would take “a lot of money” to get them out of Glasgow but that isn’t out of the question.
Saudi Arabia have spent big money in recent windows to strengthen their league and with Al-Ettifaq clearly backing Gerrard after handing him a new contract despite some poor form, you’d assume that they will do what they can to bring in the players he wants.
Clement has also spoken about his admiration for veteran Balogun, who is out of contract this summer, and a new contract for the Nigerian looks likely.
So if Balogun and Souttar remain the starting pair of centre-backs for the remainder of this campaign, the reliance on Goldson in particular becomes far less prevalent than it has been in recent years.
That means should an offer come in, the club will surely be more inclined to take a look and consider it, and Goldson would be more tempted to leave if he’s no longer guaranteed first-choice.
The longer he is unavailable to play for, the more time it gives Clement to look at alternative options and potentially make the decision that Goldson leaving Rangers isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world, or indeed the worst thing for the club.
In other Rangers news, one star man was nowhere to be seen as Sky Sports footage emerged ahead of the Kilmarnock clash.
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