Steven Gerrard has been really busy in enhancing the quality of the arsenal he inherited after being appointed as the manager of Rangers earlier this summer. The former Liverpool skipper has made some astute signings with a minimum outflow of funds, having acquired the likes of Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic, Scott Arfield, Allan McGregor and Jamie Murphy.
However, Millwall’s Jake Cooper is one of the players he has been monitoring but hasn’t been able to lure to the Ibrox Stadium thus far. Although he is still keen to sign him, he had put Blackpool’s Curtis Tilt on his radar as an alternative for Cooper. Intriguingly, one of the latest reports by The Scottish Sun states that Gerrard now has his sights set on Bolton Wanderers’ central defender Mark Beevers.
Gerrard is desperate to rope in a left-sided centre-back and his apparent interest to sign a central defender makes complete sense. For quite a long span of time now, the Light Blues have been under the shadow of their arch-rivals Celtic and the 38-year-old is leaving no stone unturned to ensure he has a well-groomed arsenal to operate with this season.
A strong defensive line does win titles and Beevers has plenty of experience under his belt to cater to the needs of The Gers. He emerged through the youth ranks of Sheffield Wednesday and went on to garner more than a century of appearances for their senior side. In the January transfer window of 2013, his loan spell with Millwall was converted into a permanent transfer and eventually, he switched to Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2016.
In 44 Championship appearances last term for the Trotters, Beevers scored 1 goal. Besides, he made 1.6 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 8.8 clearances and 1 block per game on an average and helped his side in maintaining their status of being an English second division side. He has volumes of experience under his belt and his know-how should come in handy for the Glasgow based club if the deal materializes.
A strong centre-back with exceptional heading abilities, Beevers is an astute reader of the game. He can marshal the back line meticulously and has the physicality to absorb the animosity of the Scottish top flight. Recently, Rangers’ bid of £3million for Cooper was rejected by Millwall. In such a situation, signing Beevers wouldn’t be a bad idea as the 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract and would be a much cheaper option than Cooper.
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