Rangers Opinion: Patrick Bauer could prove to be a massive bargain for the Gers
According to Football Scotland, Rangers have been linked with a move for Charlton Athletic defender Patrick Bauer, with reports claiming that the Gers are likely to face stiff competition from fellow Scottish Premiership side Hibernian in their pursuit of the 26-year-old German.
Bauer, who scored the stoppage-time winner in Charlton’s victory over Sunderland in the League One playoff final at Wembley to sure promotion for the Addicks, is out of contract at The Valley in a month’s time. Charlton are keen to retain his services but the centre-back is yet to make a call on his future.
Football Scotland understands that the Gers would also need to fend off interest from as many as six other EFL Championship clubs, with the likes of Millwall, Preston, Blackburn Rovers, QPR, Wigan Athletic and Hull City all keen to secure the services od the defender.
Bauer played 39 times for Lee Bowyer’s side in League One this term and scored the all-important goal to propel the Addicks into the Championship. A product of German club VfB Stuttgart, Bauer predominantly featured for the reserve team of his boyhood club before completing a move to the Portuguese top-flight with Maritimo.
Following a successful spell in Portugal, Bauer was snapped up by Championship outfit Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2015. The 26-year-old former German U-20 international has gone from strength to strength at The Valley over the years, establishing himself as one of the mainstays of the backline and registering a total of 135 appearances in all competitions.
To put things into perspective, Rangers are in dire need to bringing in reinforcements at centre-back and out-of-contract Charlton defender Patrick Bauer could prove to be a useful addition on a free transfer.
The Gers have already secured the services of Jordan Jones and Jake Hastie on pre-contract deals from Kilmarnock and Motherwell respectively but a new centre-back should be high on Steven Gerrard’s recruitment list for the summer.
Nottingham Forest loanee Joe Worrall is back at the City Ground following a successful loan spell at Ibrox this past season, leaving Gerrard with a huge void to fill in the transfer window.
Veteran Gareth McAuley is also out of contract, meaning that the Gers are only going to have the likes of Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic as viable senior options at the heart of the defence next term.
Bauer might not be a world-beater but he is certainly good enough to add depth and cover in a key area of the pitch for Gerrard.
The German has a wealth of Championship, League One and Primeira Liga experience under his belt and Rangers should relish having a reliable defender like him in their ranks next season. Hence, it is not difficult to understand why the arrival of Patrick Bauer could be the perfect start to the summer for Rangers.
The Gers have shown plenty of promise under Gerrard but they need to turn that into something meaningful next term and challenge arch-rivals Celtic for the Scottish Premiership title.
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Keeping that in mind, they need to have all their bases covered heading into the upcoming season and the acquisition of Bauer could prove to be a massive bargain, if not, a masterstroke by Gerrard.
