MARK Warburton revealed last night that Rangers were “very close” to agreeing a deal with Philipe Senderos and admitted the Swiss internationalist could feature in the Ladbrokes Premiership match with Kilmarnock tomorrow.
Warburton is looking to complete his summer recruitment drive by signing another centre half and Senderos, the former Arsenal and Fulham defender who has been training at Auchenhowie since last week, has impressed him.
The Ibrox club had been on the verge of securing the services of Joleon Lescott, who has been told he can leave Aston Villa, last Friday only for the move to fall through for “family reasons”.
Senderos, the 31-year-old who played for Grasshoppers of Zurich in his homeland last season, is also reported to be interesting Bundesliga club TSV 1860 Munich in Germany. However, Warburton is optimistic an agreement can be reached with the player.
“Phil is in with us training,” he said. “We are having a look at him, he is having a look at us. That’s how it works. We have other options and so has he. But I have been very, very impressed.
“His on-the-park stuff is obvious, his technical ability. His CV is too good not to be very strong. The question marks we had were physically. Can he deal with it, training with the team? But he has dealt with every session more than comfortably. He is in good shape.
“He is only 31. You think of him as older than that because he joined Arsenal at something like 18. He has been playing at the highest level for a long while, with three World Cups and a very impressive CV.
“We have to make sure it is the right decision for Rangers and likewise he has to make sure it is the right decision for him. But I am very hopeful that we are getting very near.”
Warburton added: “We want the right deal done as soon as possible, but making the right decision is key. We have got other options and that is where Frank (Rangers head of recruitment McParland) and his team have been so strong.
"Likewise Philippe will have other options because he is a very talented player. We have to make sure the deal is right on both sides. I’m hoping that by the end of this week we will a conclusion one way or another.
“We have Clint (Hill), we have Danny (Wilson), we have Rob (Kiernan). We were exposed earlier in the season when Danny was suspended and we had no cover on the bench. We need that cover.
“We wanted four centre-halves - and four strikers to give us something different. I hope we now have that variety and the strength in depth.”
With the first league game of the season between Rangers and Celtic drawing nearer – the Glasgow rivals will play each other for the first time in the league for four years at Parkhead on Saturday, September 10 – Warburton is keen to strengthen his defence.
Asked if Senderos could be involved against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park tomorrow night, Warburton said: “He could be if we get it over the line. Are we comfortable playing him? Absolutely.
“But there’s no manic rush. It has to be right for Rangers and right for Philipe. If we get that combination then we’ll be okay.”
Warburton had been hopeful that Martyn Waghorn, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the game against Hamilton earlier this month, would be available to play against Kilmarnock.
However, the English striker, who suffered a knee injury on the artificial surface at Rugby Park in a Scottish Cup game last season, won't be risked and could now make his comeback in the friendly with Linfield in Belfast on Saturday week.
“We are not going to rush Martyn back on that surface given what happened last time we played there,” said Warburton.
“I’m not saying there will be a repeat of that. I am just saying there is no need to rush him back. That is the beauty of having Kenny Miller and Joe Dodoo and Joe Garner.”
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