Connor Goldson on verge of Rangers exit as he’s left out of pre-season squad

CONNOR GOLDSON is on the verge of agreeing a deal to join Aris Limassol.

The defender held talks with Cypriot club over the weekend before returning to Scotland.

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Negotiations were put on hold, as exclusively reported by SunSport.

And Goldson, 31, was part of Philippe Clement’s squad for tonight’s friendly clash with Birmingham City. 

He flew down to the Midlands with his team-mates.

But we can reveal the stopper is now OUT of contention to play against the Blues at St Andrews in the tribute match for the late Trevor Francis.

And Goldson now looks set to exit the Ibrox club after six years with a deal close to being rubber-stamped.

Clement is now hoping to use the centre-back’s hefty wages to freshen up his squad.

Skipper James Tavernier’s position at the club is also hanging in the balance.

While Todd Cantwell will be shown the door with Cardiff City leading the chase for his signature.

Goldson will be the seventh player to leave Rangers this summer (not including Kieran Wright who joined Airdrie on loan).

Borna Barisic, John Lundstram, Jon McLaughlin, Kemar Roofe, Ryan Jack and Robby McCrorie have already departed.

Boss Clement said he knows he needs to replace their experience but also spoke to the fact all but one of them left as free agents, and therefore ended up costing the club a pretty penny.

The Rangers manager said last month: “We had five players going out of the building at the end of their contracts so we didn’t get any money. 

“In that way we lost five players.

“It was easier now to get the young players in, but there will also be experience coming into the building.

“We need to get a good balance of both in the squad, but it was important to find these young talents and I think we have found a few really exciting talents for the future of this club.

“To be ready to play minutes in the beginning, but also in the coming years.

“It’s something that’s not been done for the past couple of years, to have developing players and to sell them for better prices.

“A lot of players left for free and it cost the club a lot of money.

“We need to get a better trading model, in that way I think the recruitment team has found some really exciting talents for the future of this club.

“We need to rebuild the leadership group.

“It’s exciting to get new players in. It’s a new cycle and it’s really challenging. It’s going to be with a lot of players this season, more than I want.

“But it is the only way because of the situation. We are all very motivated.”

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