Patrick Stewart has admitted that Rangers are on a hunt for a new central defender in January as the club tries to navigate a defensive injury crisis.
The Ibrox side are without several centre-back options as Neraysho Kasanwirjo, John Souttar, Leon Balogun and Dujon Sterling all break down amid a hectic schedule.
It’s got everyone at Rangers talking about a new centre-back recruit that fits the mould and will provide the least amount of disruption to the Rangers squad as possible.
That’s why Burnley’s Swedish international centre-back Hjalmar Ekdal is a name that stands out with Rangers one of seven teams said to be tailing the 26-year-old.
Rangers ‘make contact’ with Burnley over Hjalmar Ekdal
According to Expressen in Sweden, Rangers are one of seven clubs who have expressed an interest in taking Burnley centre-back Hjalmar Ekdal on loan.
The Swedish international defender has suffered with a hamstring injury this season and has made just one appearance for Burnley, playing 50 minutes in this weekend’s 3-1 FA Cup win over Reading.
It’s claimed that Rangers face competition from clubs in the English Championship and Italy to sign Ekdal, who was once hailed as an ‘intelligent’ and ‘mobile’ defender by former Clarets boss Vincent Kompany (Burnley Express).
The report claims that Rangers are one of ‘several clubs’ who have ‘made contact’ with Burnley over the signing of Hjalmar Ekdal, who is expected to leave Turf Moor this month.
South of the border, the likes of QPR, Middlesbrough and Stoke City all said to be interested, whilst Empoli, Sampdoria and Brescia have expressed an interest in Italy.
Burnley reportedly paid just over £2m to sign Hjalmar Ekdal from Djurgarden in January 2023 but the seven-times capped Sweden defender has played just 19 games in two years.
Patrick Stewart admits ‘active discussions’ over defender
Patrick Stewart addressed the press and Rangers’ January transfer plans as the club wrestles with something of an injury crisis.
With several players nursing issues, Rangers appear to have turned their attentions to Hjalmar Ekdal and a short-term fix as they look to stop leaking goals in the Scottish Premiership.
Stewart admits that Rangers have a problem at the heart of their defence but was wary of having too many options in the squad when players return to fitness.
That’s why a short-term deal for Hjalmar Ekdal could make sense in the context of the season and the situation is one to watch as Philippe Clement eyes reinforcements.
Whilst Patrick Stewart admits that Rangers will ‘walk away’ from any deal which doesn’t suit the Gers, the club does appear to be closing in on the first signing of the new CEO’s time at Ibrox.
Whether that will be Ekdal or someone else remains to be seen, but Rangers are in ‘active discussions’ over the signing of a new defender.
“Firstly when you know a club has suffered injuries such as we have – particularly a centre-back – it is an opportunity to make a reactive signing,” said Stewart.
”This is a position we’ve been looking at since December and so we have been active in discussions.
“I’m not going to go into details as to exact targets and what those have been but we have been looking at that since December.
“I come back to what I said earlier, we’re going to be really disciplined in our approach and we will walk away from a deal if it’s not right.
“And that’s particularly so because the position we find ourselves in at centre-back is because of injuries, and players are going to start returning.
”So during the window, we’ve obviously got some injuries at centre-back but there are timescales for Balogun and Souttar coming back.
“We’ve got Tav coming back at right-back, Jack Butland obviously between the sticks.
“So with players coming back we don’t want to create issues where we sign short-term fixes and then suddenly there are blocks and we’ve got too many players and that you know creates other challenges.
”We are looking at this but we’re going to use our money wisely.”
