Former Rangers defender Filip Helander is closing in on a move to Serie A side Cagliari and a return to Italy following his summer release from Ibrox.
According to the Glasgow Times, the Swedish international centre-back, 30, will turn down a return to Allsvenskan outfit Malmo over a move to the Italian top flight this summer.
The report also makes mention of the £3.5m Rangers paid to bring Filip Helander from Italy and Bologna in 2019, with the defender spending an injury-plagued four seasons at Ibrox.
Rangers fans didn’t see Helander at all last season, whilst the centre-back only made 11 appearances the season before.
In total, across four seasons Filip Helander only played 60 games for Rangers which, when you consider Connor Goldson played 207 in the same period, is quite simply a disastrous return for the money paid.
You just know Filip Helander is going to find fitness and form in Italy after suffering a devastating run of injuries at Rangers and there’s nothing left to do but wish him the best of luck at Cagliari.
Filip Helander touted for Italy return after Rangers release
Once touted for a big money transfer, Rangers made a substantial eight-figure loss on the centre-back in yet another damning indictment of the club’s often stuttering player trading model.
One of several high profile players released in the summer, Rangers also missed big opportunities with the likes of Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos, who were the subject of megabucks interest earlier in their Ibrox careers.
Whilst Rangers fans will point to the positive impact Filip Helander made when he moved to Scotland from Italy, there can be no doubting there is substantial regret around the player.
Even if the centre-back helped the club to 55, the only season where we saw the defender consistently, Helander’s chronic absences also had a dramatic impact on the playing squad.
Last season, Rangers’ defensive crisis turned into a nightmare with all four senior centre-backs spending substantial time on the sidelines and the team collapsing in Europe and domestically.
This time around, Michael Beale is determined to avoid a repeat but the Rangers manager’s latest comments suggest the move for one defender might actually be off the table.
