Ibrox outfit Rangers have been linked with three defenders – Swansea City’s Kyle Bartley, West Ham’s Reece Burke and Brighton’s Connor Goldson.
Steven Gerrard’s coaching experience amounts to one year in charge of Liverpool’s U18s, so he is something of an unknown quantity as he prepares to take over at Rangers ahead of next season.
But do the three centre-backs reportedly targeted by the Glasgow giants this summer give an indication of the style of football Gerrard will attempt to encourage at Ibrox? Quite possibly.
According to the Argus, the former Liverpool skipper has made the Brighton centre-back Connor Goldson a target. And it is understood that the 25-year-old fits Gerrard’s so-called ‘build from the back’ philosophy, which suggests Rangers fans should get used to seeing their centre-backs spray passes into midfield to start attacks from deep.
Goldson is renowned at Brighton for his impressive distribution and he is not the only silky centre-back who has been linked with a move to Ibrox.
The Scottish Sun states that Gerrard wants the former Rangers loanee Kyle Bartley from Swansea City, potentially in a £2.5 million bargain deal. Bartley, like Goldson, is admired for his passing ability, which perhaps has something to do with his past in the Arsenal academy and in a side formerly known as ‘Swansealona’.
He boasted an 81 per cent pass competion rate in the Premier League last season.
The West Ham youngster Reece Burke is also understood to be on Gerrard’s radar, according to the Mirror. And while his pass competition rate is comparatively low compared to Bartley and Goldson (63 per cent), Burke played in central midfield on loan at Bolton Wanderers last season and was a revelation in a role where he was expected to see more of the ball.
Gerrard is a young coach with fresh ideas, so it is no surprise that he seems to be putting the pieces together for a modern, possession-based style of football at Rangers.
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