Glasgow Rangers head coach Michael Beale may want to make alterations to his squad in the summer in order to stamp his own mark on the playing roster at Ibrox.
The Light Blues manager enjoyed his first transfer window in charge of the club in January and was able to bring in two players to bolster his ranks, signing Nicolas Raskin and Todd Cantwell from Standard Liege and Norwich City respectively.
However, the summer transfer window affords him and Ross Wilson more time to work on deals and gives the new signings a pre-season to settle in before the 2023/24 campaign commences.
Beale and Wilson are seemingly already at work ahead of the next transfer window, as Football Insider recently reported that the Gers have held talks with Independiente Santa Fe over a deal to sign defender Kevin Mantilla.
Premier League giants Liverpool are also said to be interested in signing the 19-year-old centre-back, but it remains to be seen how much the Colombian club will want for his services.
Could Kevin Mantilla replace Connor Goldson at Rangers?
Wilson could land the Light Blues their dream long-term heir to Connor Goldson’s position in the team by securing a deal to sign the South American teenager – who has stated that he is “calm” about the transfer interest – ahead of the English giants.
At the age of 30, Goldson may be heading into the final throes of his career, and bringing in a young defender who could learn from him before eventually taking his place in the XI could be a shrewd move by the Ibrox club.
He is already showing signs of his star waning after a disappointing performance against Celtic in the Viaplay Cup final last weekend, allowing Kyogo Furuhashi to score due to his poor positioning in the penalty box.
Despite that lapse in concentration at Hampden Park, Goldson has still been a solid performer in the Premiership this season. He has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.29 across 20 appearances and won 66% of his duels, whilst completing 88% of his attempted passes.
Mantilla, who is 11 years Goldson’s junior, could work with the Englishman in training and learn from him whilst adapting to playing in Scottish football before becoming a regular in the Rangers team further down the line.
The teenager, who has been capped 15 times by Colombia at U20 level, has caught the eye in his two appearances in his homeland’s Primera A in 2023 by recording an average Sofascore rating of 7.55. In those matches, the titan has won 76% of his duels and completed 88% of his passes whilst also making four tackles and interceptions per game.
This comes after the centre-back made 18 appearances in the Primera A Clausura in 2022 and won 55% of his duels to go along with completing 86% of his passes.
Despite being only 19, Mantilla has shown that he has the physical strength to dominate opposition forwards and also boasts the calmness and quality in possession to complete a high percentage of his attempted passes, which suggests that he can play out from the back comfortably.
Therefore, the youngster could be the long-term heir to Goldson in defence for Rangers, as the Colombian centre-back has shown signs of promise in his short career to date and could be an excellent prospective signing for now and also for the future.