Will Rangers’ Goldson pursuit leave Leeds free to sign Kyle Bartley?

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Rangers were reportedly going head-to-head with Championship side Leeds United for Kyle Bartley, but who will sign the Swansea City defender?

Rangers are going all out for Connor Goldson.

According to the Daily Record, Steven Gerrard’s side are set to make a third offer for the Brighton centre-back and it is expected to be in the region of £3 million, the price-tag put on the 25-year-old’s head by his Premier League employers.

But if Rangers are to devote a substantial chunk of their summer budget on signing Goldson, Kyle Bartley could be beyond their means, with other areas of the Gers squad needing to be reinforced.

In short, that could potentially give Leeds hope of winning the race for the in-demand defender.

Chairman Dave King might have promised to back Gerrard in the transfer market but money does not grow on trees and Rangers need far more than two new centre-halves.

The Scottish Sun stated recently that Rangers are keen on re-signing Swansea centre-back Bartley, who played at Ibrox on loan during his Arsenal days. Swansea value Bartley at around £5 million but Rangers were hopeful that they could sign him for half that fee.

But with Rangers also seemingly looking at a new striker or two as well as an influential central midfielder and potentially another winger, does it really make sense to buy two quite expensive centre-backs? Especially with Bruno Alves, Ross McCrorie, Aiden White and Fabio Cardoso still at Ibrox.

The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that Leeds, who also loaned Bartley during the 2016/17 season, have made the 25-year-old one of their top summer targets.

And with Rangers going all out for Goldson, this could leave the Elland Road outfit free to pursue Bartley over the next few weeks.