Birmingham City manager John Eustace is ‘hopeful’ of bringing Wolves’ Dion Sanderson back to St Andrews with a potential move to Rangers seemingly dead for the defender.
When the Scottish Sun reported on New Years’ Day that Dion Sanderson had played his way onto Mick Beale’s radar – scouted by former sporting director Ross Wilson before he left Ibrox for Nottingham Forest – there was one aspect of the 23-year-old’s game that really stood out.
His versatility.
Equally comfortable at centre-half or at right-back, Sanderson’s ability to thrive in multiple positions obviously appeared to a coach who – since taking over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst at Rangers – appears to have put extra interest highly-flexible players; see Sam Lammers, Kieran Dowell, Jose Cifuentes, Abdallah Sima and Todd Cantwell.
The space that Sanderson would have occupied at Rangers, however, now appears to have been filled by Dujon Sterling instead. A bargain addition from Chelsea; Sterling – like Sanderson – gives Beale some vital cover at both right-back and at centre-half.
Eustace, then, may have a clearer run than he might have expected at a player who will be allowed to leave Wolves for £2.25 million this summer (Birmingham Mail). Especially with reports linking Sanderson with Rangers growing cold since Sterling’s arrival.
Birmingham hope as Rangers bow out of Dion Sanderson race
“I’m certainly hopeful,” Eustace says of Sanderson, who impressed on loan at the Blues in 2022/23.
“I know Dion has got a lot of admirers out there. We are in the pecking order to try and sign him. But I do know there’s other clubs that will want to sign him as well.
“Dion knows what I think of him. I’ve said on a number of occasions in interviews how much I like him as a player. And how much I respect him.
“If we can get him that would be fantastic.”
As things stand, you would get shorter odds on Rangers signing Sanderson’s former defensive partner Auston Trusty instead.
The Arsenal-owned USA international – Birmingham’s Player of the Year in 2022/23 – would fill a void created by Filip Helander at Ibrox with Rangers now prioritising a left-sided centre-half over a right-sided one.
Jonathan Panzo of Nottingham Forest remains the leading target.
