Speaking to Football Insider, Noel Whelan has insisted that Rangers must keep hold of Connor Goldson in order to stop Celtic from winning the title next season.

What did he say?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that the centre-back is interesting sides like West Ham, Leeds and West Brom, amongst others, and Whelan has claimed that the Gers would be foolish to let him go in the current circumstances.

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He said: "I think if Rangers have got any serious hopes of competing with Celtic they have got to keep these players or at least try to keep them.  If you let go of a player like that, who knows the club, you will have to replace that and a replacement would likely cost money if you want that sort of quality. He was always going to have interest.

"If I was Steven Gerrard I would be desperate to keep hold of my best players. He is the sort of player you need at the club if you want to stop Celtic winning 10 in a row."

No sense

As Whelan points out, if Rangers do end up letting Goldson go, then they will have to dip into the transfer market to find someone who's as good, if not better, than the 27-year-old.

The centre-back had been a permanent fixture in Steven Gerrard's starting eleven before the season got cancelled, making a staggering 51 appearances across all competitions, including playing the full 90 minutes in every single league game.

Allowing one of your key first-team stars to, doesn't set the right example in terms of trying to stop Celtic from winning the league again. Whelan is absolutely right to suggest the Gers must get Goldson to stay at Ibrox this summer.