Rangers chiefs have reportedly made contact to sign a Sweden international on loan for Philippe Clement in the January transfer window.
Rangers eyeing new defender in January
It has been an eventful start to 2025 at Ibrox, with Rangers defeating arch rivals Celtic in their first Scottish Premiership fixture of the calendar year before dropping points on the road at Dundee and Hibernian.
As a result, pressure has been building on Clement once more, however, CEO Patrick Stewart recently revealed that the club are backing the Belgian. Talking to Sky Sports, Stewart said:
“I need to make some tough decisions, it comes with the role, but I am committed to making the right ones for Rangers, not just the popular ones. So cutting to the chase, we are backing Philippe at this time as a board.
“It’s about taking a deeper look at the issues, addressing those problems, and staying focused on building a stronger future for the club.
“Changing a manager isn’t a silver-bullet solution. You know where I’ve worked previously, and that isn’t something that has been effective there, it’s not effective at a lot of football clubs where there’s constant change of manager.”
Stewart also spoke about Rangers’ plans for the January transfer window, admitting the need for a centre-back is on the club’s wishlist despite the winter market being difficult to do business.
“The January window generally isn’t a particularly fruitful window. Most selling clubs do not want to sell their best players. We have no intention of selling the players that are performing on the park at the moment and why would we expect any other club that’s challenging for trophies to do so.
“All of that said… I think there are a couple of scenarios where it can be really effective. Firstly where a club has suffered injuries such as we have – particularly a centre-back – it is an opportunity to make a reactive signing. This is a position we’ve been looking at since December and so we have been active in discussions.”
Stewart and technical director Nils Koppen have been linked with a number of centre-backs, including Manchester United’s Jonny Evans, Norwich City’s Grant Hanley and Cavalier FC’s Richard King, however, a new target has now emerged.
Rangers make approach for Sweden international
According to Swedish outlet Expressen, Rangers have made contact to sign Burnley defender Hjalmar Ekdal. The Gers aren’t the only club keen on a move for the Clarets centre-back though, with Stoke City, QPR, Middlesbrough also making approaches for the 26-year-old.
Ekdal, a Sweden international, is expected to be loaned out by Burnley this month, and there is also interest abroad from Sampdoria, Empoli, Brescia and Groningen.
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Former Burnley boss Vincent Kompany praised Ekdal and Ameen Al-Dakhil back in 2023, calling the duo “intelligent”. “They’re intelligent players and that helps. They communicate, they understand when asked to do certain tasks and they’ve got the athleticism.
“In times when they’re not quite in the right position, or they haven’t done something perfect, they’re able to compensate. They’re centre backs who are quite mobile, you could go on a run in the forest and they’ll run with the midfielders.”