STEVEN GERRARD is set to complete his eighth signing of the summer as defender Filip Helander prepares to put pen-to-paper on an Ibrox deal.
Gerrard revealed after the Europa League victory over St Joseph’s on Tuesday night that he was close to finalising his latest move in the transfer market.
And Helander will now join the Light Blues after a fee of £3.5million was agreed with Serie A side Bologna for the Swedish stopper.
The 26-year-old is poised to finalise a four-year contract at Ibrox and the deal could be announced on Thursday as Gerrard bolsters his ranks once again ahead of the new Premiership campaign.
The Gers boss had been linked with a move for Ivorian centre-half Simon Deli but he dismissed those reports in Gibraltar this week before confirming he was confident of landing another defender sooner rather than later.
The fee for Helander is the highest that Rangers have paid this summer and he follows George Edmundson in making the move to Ibrox to compete with Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic.
Helander has also turned out for Malmo and Verona and was part of the Sweden squad at the World Cup finals in Russia last summer.
His arrival will complete Gerrard’s business at centre-back during this window but Rangers remain in the market for further additions and are firmly in the race to sign Ryan Kent on a second loan from Liverpool.
A number of players will also be allowed to leave in the coming weeks as the likes of Eros Grezda and Kyle Lafferty look for new clubs just 12 months after moving to Ibrox, while Graham Dorrans and Jason Holt also find themselves surplus to requirements.
Winger Glenn Middleton will head out on loan and Hull and Coventry could look to land him ahead of Doncaster Rovers on a deal until the end of the season.
Academy midfielder Stephen Kelly has joined Ayr United for the new Championship campaign and he could be joined at Somerset Park by Josh McPake.
The highly-rated forward penned a new three-year deal with Rangers on Wednesday as he committed his future to the club despite interest from the likes of Liverpool and Roma in recent months.
There is also interest from Dunfermline in Under-20s defender Matthew Shiels and he could make a loan switch to East End Park for the season.
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