Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun has been unveiled at Rangers Glasgow hours after exiting English Championship side QPR
“RANGERS are delighted to welcome Leon Balogun back to Rangers, with the central defender signing a one-year deal with the club, subject to international clearance.”
Balogun who is a former player of the club, returned following coach Michael Beale’s desire to add experience to his squad, with Balogun certainly bringing that, both as a member of Beale’s playing squad but also as a leader around the dressing room.
According to Rangers, Balogun had an excellent two years from 2020-2022 at Ibrox, contributing to the delivery of title number 55 in 2021, the Scottish Cup in 2022 and the run to the Europa League final also in 2022.
He has spent the last year at QPR, and also has Bundesliga pedigree, having had spells with Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Mainz 05, Premier League experience with Brighton and Hove Albion, and international honours with Nigeria, including at a World Cup and an African Cup of Nations.
He becomes the seventh signing of the summer for Beale, and speaking after his arrival at the team’s training camp in Germany, Balogun commented: “I am just excited to be honest, it is still a bit unreal but it is very real, so I am just really really happy to be back at Rangers – it feels like coming home.”
“Since I have left, I have always felt a lot of appreciation and love from friends I have made in Glasgow and around the club and now that I am back it is nice to say the least.
“I know second is no option, I know what people are going to say very quickly if we are not performing so it is time to get to work, put our best foot forward and make sure we get the results that we need.”
Manager, Michael Beale, continued: “Leon is a person that I have full trust in both as a footballer and a man.
“He is extremely well-liked by everyone inside the club, and we are very happy to have someone with his experience and leadership qualities re-joining our squad. Naturally he will integrate back into the club very quickly and he understands fully our way of working and style of play.
“As a free agent, we were able to move quickly so that he could join us here in Germany. It was really nice to see the reception he received from the players and staff on joining us here at the camp.”
