Rangers Opinion: Signing Timm Klose on a free transfer would be a massive coup for the Gers

According to reports from Football Scotland, Rangers have been linked with Norwich City defender Timm Klose, who is out of contract at Carrow Road in the summer.

Football Scotland understands that Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is on the lookout for defensive reinforcements ahead of the summer transfer window and has set his sights on the 31-year-old Swiss veteran in a bid to bolster his options at the back.

Klose, however, is not the only centre-back to be have been linked with a move to Ibrox at the end of the season, with The Scottish Sun reporting that the Gers are also weighing up a move for £450,000-rated Oldham Athletic centre-back George Edmundson.

Klose played a key role in Norwich City’s promotion-winning campaign in the Championship this season alongside Christoph Zimmermann at the heart of the defence.

The 31-year-old made a total of 31 appearances under Daniel Farke to help the Canaries secure automatic promotion and win the second division title, scoring on 4 occasions in the process.

Klose had spells in Switzerland with FC Thun and Basel earlier in his career and featured for  Nurnberg and Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga before signing for Norwich City in the Premier League in January 2016. He made an instant impact in the Premier League but he wasn’t able to avoid the club from being relegated to the Championship.

The 31-year-old has been an ever-present at the back for the Canaries over the last two or three seasons, having made a total of 118 appearances for the club in all competitions till date.

However, his future at Carrow Road remains up in the air this summer, although The Eastern Daily Press claims that Klose has made progress on talks over a new deal upon the club’s promotion to the Premier League.

To put things into perspective, Rangers should firm up their interest in the Norwich City man and act quickly if they are really serious about bringing the 31-year-old Swiss veteran to Ibrox this summer.

Signing a centre-back of Timm Klose’s calibre on a free transfer would potentially be a wonderful piece of business for Rangers and they just cannot afford let this opportunity go begging.

Rangers are under pressure to invest in one of two centre-backs this summer, with Nottingham Forest loanee Joe Worrall set to return to his parent club upon the expiry of his loan spell and 39-year-old Gareth McAuley out of contract in a month’s time.

That would leave Gerrard with Croatian starlet Nikola Katic and Conor Goldson as the only senior options at centre-back, a situation that can spell imminent danger if either of the first-choice defenders is sidelined with an injury.

The Gers had Ligue 1 centre-back Mexer on their radar but they are reportedly set to miss out on the experienced Mozambique international after he signed a pre-contract agreement with Bordeaux.

The situation with Timm Klose is also pretty much the same and Rangers need to act in time to beat off competition for the 31-year-old.

Standing at 6ft. 4 inches with a towering frame, Klose is not the most agile of centre-backs but his physicality, aerial ability and astute positioning should make him a player perfectly suited to the style of play prevalent in the Scottish Premiership.

He is a wonderful reader of the game and often stamps his authority over his offensive counterparts inside the box with his ability to win headers all day. Calm and composed in possession and blessed with good ball-playing qualities, Klose is not only adept at playing it out from the back but he is also a very good leader at the back.

Rangers might be tempted to bring in George Edmundson for a bargain price, given that the 21-year-old is a lot younger than Klose. However, if the Gers are really serious about challenging Celtic for the domestic title next season, they would need a lot of experience and quality in all areas of the pitch.

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Klose is shoulders above Edmundson in terms of both quality and experience, but if Rangers do want to bring in the youngster, they should also prioritise the signing of Timm Klose to ensure that they have the perfect balance in their options at the back.