A major update has emerged regarding Rangers dud George Edmundson, it could lead to Ross Wilson needing to make a strong decision.
What's the talk?
According to Football Insider, Rangers have received and rejected several offers for centre-back Edmundson following the end of the defender's loan spell with English Championship side Derby County. The report claims that a number of English clubs are keen on signing Edmundson and have tested Rangers' resolve with opening salvos.
Edmundson spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan to Derby after being slapped with a seven-game ban by the Scottish FA for breaking Covid-19 regulations. The 23-year-old attended a party alongside teammate Jordan Jones during lockdown and was punished for his actions with the ban, leading to his exit from Rangers on loan during the January window.
After Edmundson was found guilty of breaking the protocols, former Scotland international Gary Caldwell suggested that Steven Gerrard “can't trust” the defender on or off the pitch. He told BBC Sportsound, as transcribed by the Daily Record:
"If you can’t trust the players to adhere to Covid regulations, how can he trust them on the football park? To mark a man from a set piece?
"It’s disappointing for Rangers but also disappointing for Scottish football.
"The situation clubs find themselves in financially, they’re going to need help at some point so we need to be showing Scottish football in the best light and unfortunately, we didn’t do that."
Wilson must axe him
The time is up for Edmundson at Ibrox and director of football Ross Wilson must now ruthlessly axe him from the club this summer. He has shown, as Caldwell explained, that he cannot be trusted off the pitch and the trust between himself and Gerrard may have been affected in terms of his on the pitch responsibilities as well. The fact Gerrard wanted to send him out on loan to Derby suggests that Edmundson is not part of his immediate plans and Rangers could benefit from moving him on as swiftly as possible.
Wilson needs to take advantage of the interest in Edmundson to bring in a respectable transfer fee for the defender, which could then bolster his own transfer plans. If Rangers can get a six or seven-figure offer for Edmundson then they could use that to bring in Gerrard's targets to bolster the squad ahead of next season.
The £3.7k-per-week dud also failed to catch the eye on loan at Derby. In 10 Championship appearances for Wayne Rooney's side, Edmundson averaged an unimpressive WhoScored rating of 6.62 at centre-back. Meanwhile, Connor Goldson, Filip Helander and Leon Balogun all averaged WhoScored ratings of 7.06 or higher in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers at centre-back. This suggests that Edmundson is not even close to Gerrard's other centre-back options in terms of quality before you even take his off-field issues into considerations. So, Wilson now needs to facilitate an exit for Edmundson and send him back to England this summer.
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