It has been confirmed by verified sources close to Ibrox that Rangers are indeed 100% interested in Dutch Eredivisie based Casper Widell. The Swedish defender, 23, has a fair number of under 21 caps for his country (12) but has yet to break into the senior side. He will not be featuring at this summer’s World Cup, but has shone extremely well in Holland’s top flight for Excelsior.
Strong Interest Confirmed
He is regarded as a distinctly impressive defender who Rangers are very much interested in.
The problem that we have at the moment is that Rangers have not yet made a stake claim for his signature.
He is one that is being ‘monitored’ and is strongly on the radar.
Rangers clearly need new talent at the back. Currently, Rangers’ roster includes John Souttar and Emmanuel Fernandez, and that is honestly about it.
All the other defenders Rangers had were on loan and have now gone. Clinton Nsiala is back from loan but we’re not sure we’re convinced by that.
Consequently, Rangers are distinctly short at the back and badly need some new talent coming in fairly soon.
A Promising Option
Casper Widell is a promising defender who has experienced top flight football. Of course, he has not quite experienced must win football as yet.
Excelsior are a solid Dutch side, but not quite at the level of Ajax or PSV. And Helsingborgs are no Malmo or even Sirius.
Nevertheless, he is one that is strongly on Rangers’ radar, which has been confirmed.
Whether Rangers make the move for his signature is another matter.
It requires further monitoring and further radar watching to know if he is of the right stock that is believed to take the club forward.
Consequently, Rangers are working on defence.
Defensive Priorities
There is no doubt that defenders are now firmly on Rangers’ radar.
Rangers lack a right back altogether. They lack defenders and now we of course know about the interest in James Penrice.
Overall, a lot of work needs to be done this summer.
With the World Cup on the horizon, it is known that manager Danny Rohl will be in the U.S. to commentate for home country networks.
As a result, he will be having a first hand scouting mission to see what he can find. He will also see what is attainable within players whose market values will absolutely rocket.
The World Cup Factor
We recall one of the World Cups many, many years ago where Argentina’s Carlos Tevez first made his mark.
Ibrox Noise genuinely believed that a player of this talent could be attainable by Rangers.
He of course ended up surprisingly at West Ham alongside one other Argentinian superstar. He then got his big move to Manchester United and indeed Manchester City.
The point is that the World Cup can throw up all kinds of talented players.
The big problem is the budget. They become valuable and Rangers’ budget, while a lot healthier than it once was, still has to stay within the confines of what is reasonable in Scottish football.
Nevertheless, Mr Widell is very much on the radar, even if he will not be one of those at the World Cup to watch.