Rangers centre back Filip Helander might still be finding his feet in Scottish football, but particularly in Europe, his performances have shown him to be a top find.
Three years in Serie A would suggest at least a modicum of defensive nous, as would his 10 caps for the Swedish national team.
But does the fact the big stopper, who is only 26, was attracting interest from the Premier League not long before he signed on at Ibrox suggest that £3m [RangersTV] is a shrewd investment?
Back in September 2018, the Express reported that Rafa Benitez – not exactly a bad point of reference – wanted Helander at Newcastle United.
Whilst the move didn’t happen, it’s a signifier of the level that several believe the former Malmo stopper is capable of playing at.
For Bologna, Helander had two solid first-team seasons before finding himself out of the picture following a change of management.
The big Swede was a starter under Roberto Donadoni but found himself out of favour under Filippo Inzaghi and Siniša Mihajlović.
Following his match-winning header against Motherwell – another domestic game where Helander still appeared unsure defensively at times – Gerrard praised his leadership qualities.
There was also a suggestion from Gary McAllister that Rangers knew it was going to take time to work Filip into the physical, furious and fast-paced Scottish game [Rangers].
The gung-ho, direct nature of Scottish football is a far cry from the traditionally methodical, patient game in Italy.
In the last week, we’ve begun to see why Rangers invested so much in a player who before being unveiled at Ibrox was much of an unknown quantity.
Still young, and with clear leadership and tactically astute defensive qualities, we’re also beginning to see why there were murmurs of Premier League interest before he joined too.
£3m could well prove a snip in the coming seasons.
