Rangers now have realistic chance of signing player who has set sights on signing for Manchester United
Rangers are reportedly interested in signing Excelsior defender Casper Widell, but Ibrox isn’t the end goal for him, Old Trafford is.
The 23-year-old enjoyed another strong 2025-26 season with the Dutch Eredivisie outfit, playing 35 times and providing a goal as well as an assist across all competitions.
Widell signed for Excelsior in the summer of 2023, and helped the team win promotion back to the Dutch top flight in 2024-25 as captain.
Rangers need more leaders in Danny Rohl‘s side, whilst the defence also let Gers down badly during the Scottish Premiership post-split run-in.
However, even if the Swedish youth international does make the move to Glasgow this summer, he may well hope a transfer to Rangers acts as a stepping stone to his big career goal: Manchester United.
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Rangers target Casper Widell has made Man United vow
Widell could reportedly seal a “dream move” away from Excelsior over the coming weeks, after giving them three years of quality service.
His contract expires in June next year, meaning this summer may well prove to be Excelsior’s last big chance to bank a sizeable fee for their star defender.
| Casper Widell fact file | Answer |
| Full name | Casper Ludvig Widell |
| Date of birth | 5 May, 2003 |
| Place of birth | Landskrona, Sweden |
| Height | 1.92m/6’3″ |
| Favourite team | Manchester United |
Undoubtedly, Rangers would be a big move for him, but this ambitious young centre-back has big dreams for his future, and they lie in the Premier League.
More specifically, with Manchester United, as he previously admitted when speaking in an interview with Swedish Helsingborgs Dagblad via Fotbollskanalen back in 2022, aged just 18 at the time.
“My favorite team is Manchester United so someday I will play for Manchester United. And I want to do that when I’m at my best,” Widell said.
“Then I’ve always told myself that my goal is to become one of the best in Sweden and one of the best centre-backs in the world. Then you have to gather experience around Europe.”
Widell may have hinted that a transfer is coming this summer
Having now proved himself to be a solid defender at Eredivisie level, Widell could be ready to try and move one step closer to his Man United dream this summer.
A move to Rangers would open the doors to European football and competing for silverware on a perennial basis, whilst also geographically closer to Manchester as well.
Most modern-day footballers are on some form of social media, and Widell is no different, and posting to his Instagram account on 21 May, he might just have hinted towards a move being around the corner for him.
“Season finished and goal reached. Time to recover and prepare for what’s coming..” he wrote.
That’s a strange way of wording things if Widell is simply talking about pre-season or the 2026-27 campaign with Excelsior, especially with the context of significant transfer talk involving his name.
So, this could very well be one for Rangers fans to keep a close eye on, as it has the feel of being a deal that could move quickly if there is mutual interest on both sides regarding a switch to Govan.
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