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Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister has given fans an insight into why the club have signed defender George Edmundson from Oldham Athletic, as reported by The Daily Record.
What’s he said?
Edmundson has become Steven Gerrard’s sixth signing of the summer so far after a reported £700,000 move from the League Two side.
He’ll now be directly competing with first choice defenders Nikola Katic and Connor Goldson this summer, making a massive step up to play in front of 50,000 crowds on a regular basis.
McAllister is delighted with the deal and has revealed what he sees the player providing next season.
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As quoted by The Daily Record, Gerrard’s assistant said:
“We’re very glad to get the deal for George over the line. It’s an area of the team where we feel we need to get some numbers in and he’s a young player that we’ve watched for a while now.
He’s got a bit of composure and he likes to defend his goal. And he’s got experience because he’s played games at Oldham.
He’s chosen Rangers over a number of English clubs so a big positive for us.
George will give us competition which we need because we’re just three weeks away from a Europa League campaign. People have to come in and hit the ground running.”
What opportunities will Edmundson have?
If Rangers again make it to the group stages of the UEFA Europa League and manage to make it through multiple rounds in both domestic cup competitions then Gerrard’s first-team can expect to play almost 60 games next season.
Such a heavy schedule could give Edmundson a great chance to get regular games under his belt, even if he does not usurp Goldson or Katic as the manager’s preferred option in the centre of defence.
Still just 21 years of age, there should be no rush in expecting too much from him too soon, but given McAllister has pointed out he was extensively scouted, the club clearly feel he is already good enough to do a job and that will likely be reward with plenty of minutes on the pitch.