As Michael Beale reveals that it’s good news with regards an injury to Leon King, it will have plenty talking about Rangers’ proposed move for Jonathan Panzo.
According to reports, the Gers are in continued discussions over a £2.5m move for Nottingham Forest centre-back Panzo, who has been routinely linked all window long.
But as Michael Beale confirms Leon King is likely to be back in training within five weeks, not quite the devastating long-term injury we all feared last week, the club’s defence now looks well stacked.
This comes after Rangers apparently signed veteran stopper Leon Balogun as a back-up to Leon King following the injury, which he picked up during the club’s Germany training camp.
“Obviously Leon King got the injury when we were away in Germany,” said Beale following Allan McGregor’s testimonial v Newcastle United.
“It’s not as bad as first feared. So we think he’ll be back in four to five weeks, back training within four weeks. So we’ve had the best case scenario with that.
“We had to scan it immediately to see if there was a break, there wasn’t. We’ve rescanned it and it’s the better news for us, so I’m delighted with that.”
Michael Beale delighted with Leon King injury news
Whilst Michael Beale is clearly beaming to learn that Leon King will not be out for a long time, the news gives Rangers fans some food for thought regarding the defence.
The situation would suggest a move for Leon Balogun was more than just a reaction to King’s injury, whilst the club now have five options at centre-back.
Leon King and Leon Balogun join Connor Goldson, John Souttar and Ben Davies, with vice-captain Goldson also set to return from injury at the end of the month.
That potential deal for Jonathan Panzo looks interesting given Rangers’ increasing number of options at centre-back and the issues the club had in the position last season.
Whilst Rangers will not want a repeat of the problems which plagued the last campaign, Michael Beale has been upfront about his desires to have a compact squad where everyone will get minutes.
But perhaps the Ibrox boss is planning a change of system which could incorporate three centre-backs on the pitch instead of two.
With Leon King returning, perhaps it throws a spanner into the works with regards Jonathan Panzo and let’s just see if Rangers’ interest begins to cool in the days and weeks ahead.
