Rangers should have never allowed both Leon Balogun and Nikola Katic to leave Ibrox in the summer, according to journalist Keith Jackson.

The Gers currently have three of their four centre-backs sidelined and, considering the poor injury records of Filip Helander and John Souttar, Jackson feels it was extremely reckless to offload both Balogun and Katic:

“The decision to let Leon Balogun and to a lesser extent Nikola Katic leave in the summer has come back to bite them. Banking on Filip Helander and John Souttar staying fit for any length of time was bordering on stupidity.”

No Rangers supporter will be arguing with Jackson’s words. Helander has had all sorts of fitness problems since arriving from Bologna in 2019. Souttar had, admittedly, been a regular starter for Hearts last season but his injury history was always a concern too.

With Connor Goldson now sidelined for months with a serious thigh muscle tear he sustained in the 7-1 defeat to Liverpool, it leaves manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst with Ben Davies and 18-year-old Leon King as his only real centre-back options.

For a team aiming to challenge for the Scottish Premiership title, that situation isn’t acceptable, and director of football Ross Wilson should be looking at free agents to see if anyone can be brought in.