Danny Wilson’s comments should puzzle Rangers fans

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Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers opted against offering Danny Wilson a new deal, according to the Scottish centre-back.

Danny Wilson has revealed to The Scottish Sun that Rangers’ Director of Football Mark Allen reneged on the decision to offer him a new contract, sparking his Ibrox exit.

The 26-year-old defender left Rangers to join MLS side Colorado Rapids last month in a decision which surprised many in Scottish football.

The Scottish centre-back, in his second spell at Ibrox, was playing and impressing on a regular basis for the Gers, with his last game being the 0-0 draw at all-conquering Celtic on December 30.

“I made it clear I wanted to stay with Rangers. Absolutely, I wanted to stay. But I was left with no choice but to consider other options,” Wilson told The Scottish Sun.

“The truth of it is that for four or five months I asked Rangers what the situation was, beginning with Pedro Caixinha before he left. I was told just to concentrate on my performances — and I thought my performance level over that period of time was good.

“Then as it got into January, after we returned from Florida, I went in to speak to them again. I was told the contract would be there in the next day or so. That was it. I left the room thinking that would be me, I would be staying at Rangers.

“That was on the Tuesday, but by the Wednesday evening I was told there would be no contract for me to sign. It was Mark Allen, the director of football, who told me.”

If true, it really is a puzzling decision on behalf of Allen to snub Wilson’s contract extension, considering how well he was playing prior to leaving.

Rangers aren’t exactly flush with centre-back options in the long term, with Russell Martin joining on loan from Norwich City, while Bruno Alves, at 36, might not even be there beyond this summer.

They also have the likes of David Bates and Ross McCrorie but, despite impressive breakthrough seasons, there’s no guarantee that either will be mainstays for the Gers going forward.

One criticism of Rangers’ pre-season signings has been that some of them clearly haven’t understood what it means to play for the club, so refusing a contract extension to someone like Wilson, who first joined the Gers as a 15-year-old, is a big gamble and one that might well backfire.