Excelsior’s Casper Widell has confirmed holding talks with Rangers in the summer window and the Ibrox club were still keen after Derek McInnes’ arrival in June.
Danny Röhl, who arrived last October, left Rangers for Red Bull Salzburg in the summer. His exit forced the Scottish club to look for a new manager and they appointed McInnes’ on June 17th.
Rangers had looked at the centre-back while Röhl was in charge and continued to show interest even after his exit.
Details of negotiations with Rangers
The Swede started his youth career at IK Wormo and left them for Helsingborgs IF in 2016. He spent four years with the latter’s academy and made his way into their first team in 2020.
In January 2022, the defender talked about his dream of playing for Manchester United at some point in his career. That didn’t happen yet as he left Helsingborgs for Excelsior in July 2023.
Casper Widell has made 113 appearances for the Eredivisie side, managing seven goals and three assists.
He gave an interview to Helsingborgs Dagblad and Fotbolltransfers relays his comments about Rangers interest and the talks he had with them. The Ibrox club, after appointing Derek McInnes, couldn’t sign him immediately.
“I had some good conversations with them. Then they changed coaches, but they were still just as interested. However, there were some rules at the club, imposed from higher up, stating that they couldn’t sign another defender until someone else had left,” he said.
| Every Rangers signing 26/27 | Previous Club | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Shankland | Heart of Midlothian | Free |
| Ross McCrorie | Bristol City | £1.1m |
| Ben Godfrey | Atalanta | Loan |
| Ivor Pandur | Hull City | £6m |
| Dan Neil | Sunderland | Free |
| Cammy Devlin | Heart of Midlothian | Free |
| Vanja Dragojević | Partizan Belgrade | £4.6m |
| Olwethu Makhanya | Philadelphia Union | £3m |
| Daisuke Yokota | Hannover 96 | £2.75m |
| James Penrice | AEK Athens | Loan |
| Kosta Nedeljković | Aston Villa | Loan |
| Kim Min-su | Girona | £8.5m |
| Kevin Kelsy | Portland Timbers | £9m |
| Badredine Bouanani | Stuttgart | Loan |
Why Rangers move collapsed
At the end of last season, Rangers released a few players including centre-backs Ben Davies and Leon King. However, the Ibrox club didn’t get rid of another central defender during the summer window.
The 23-year-old explains a Rangers player’s refusal to leave Derek McInnes’s side stopped him from moving to Glasgow.
“It looked like someone was going to leave. He wasn’t on the match squad, and he still isn’t. They offered him a loan and things like that, but he refused to leave and still refuses. In the end, nothing came of it,” Casper Widell explained.
McInnes’s side were looking to sign him on loan, and it’s unclear whether they plan to return for him in January. Meanwhile, Rangers added South African centre-back Olwethu Makhanya to their squad in the last window.
