How Rangers may have just completed their best piece of business in the summer transfer window

The £3 million fee Rangers paid Brighton and Hove Albion for Connor Goldson in June 2018 proved to be as shrewd and rewarding an investment as any made by the Ibrox club during Steven Gerrard’s tenure as manager.

In unexpectedly tying down the services of the big English central defender for another four years, Rangers may just have carried out the most significant transaction they will make in what is Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first summer transfer window.

Even van Bronckhorst himself was among those who suspected Goldson’s future was more than likely to lie elsewhere as his previous contract ran down at the end of the season, the Dutch coach observing that there was only ‘a small chance’ the 29-year-old would remain at the heart of his back four when the 2022-23 campaign got underway.

But instead of Goldson having said his farewell in the Scottish Cup final victory over Hearts at Hampden on May 21, he will be reporting back for pre-season training on June 27 in what is a hugely significant boost to van Bronckhorst’s hopes of building a sustained period of trophy-gathering on the back of his first six months as Gerrard’s successor.

Adequately replacing Goldson would have been a major challenge for van Bronckhorst and his club’s scouting and recruitment department. The terms of the new contract announced on Wednesday will have further enhanced Goldson’s status as one of the best-paid players at Rangers and that can only be regarded as a wise investment.

Had Rangers needed to go into the marketplace to source another central defender with Goldson’s attributes, they would have been looking at a transfer fee in the region of £8 million.

However the data analysts at football clubs reach their conclusions, Goldson’s