Casper Widell: Rangers transfer failed as player refused to leave

The failed Casper Widell Rangers transfer collapsed over the summer because an unnamed player refused to leave Ibrox, according to the Swedish defender’s camp.

Widell has now given his own account of how close the move came to happening.

The Excelsior centre back, speaking to Helsingborgs Dagblad in comments relayed by the Daily Record, says talks with Rangers ran throughout the window but stalled on a condition set by the club’s hierarchy rather than any lack of interest from the player.

Excelsior defender details Rangers interest and directive

Widell explains that interest from Rangers and elsewhere built quickly once the previous season ended.

“It was hectic. Clubs started reaching out as early as the end of the previous season. When I got back to Sweden, I discussed it with my agent. He had compiled a list of fourteen clubs that had made contact, and that was after he’d already ruled a few others out.”

Rangers were among the clubs holding his attention longest. “I had some good conversations with them. Then they changed managers, but their interest remained just as strong,” he said. The move then ran into a specific obstacle.

“However, there was a directive from higher up in the club stating they couldn’t sign another defender until someone else left,” Widell revealed.

“It looked like one player was going to leave. He wasn’t in the matchday squad, and still isn’t. They offered him loan moves and the like, but he refused to leave and still refuses. In the end, nothing came of it,” he said.

By the closing stages of the window, Widell had narrowed his options to two: joining Rangers or staying put.

“I didn’t have the same gut feeling about them. Towards the end of the transfer window, I was pretty much set on either joining Rangers or staying for another year to see what happened in the winter or the following summer,” he said.

He ultimately stayed at Excelsior.

Derek McInnes defensive overhaul and squad context

Rangers’ need for defensive cover didn’t disappear once talks with Widell broke down.

Derek McInnes brought in Ben Godfrey and Olwethu Makhanya last summer as he reshaped his back line, while loanees Nasser Djiga and Derek Cornelius both left the club once their spells at Ibrox ended.

That turnover sits within the wider Derek McInnes squad rebuild process since he took charge.

John Souttar’s situation adds further context to the defensive picture. The centre-back dropped out of McInnes’s plans after entering the final year of his contract and failed to find a new club before the window shut, despite late interest from EFL sides and Aris Thessaloniki. His contract now has only months to run.

It could well be that the Scotsman is the player that Widell is referring to.