RANGERS have completed the signing of Ben Davies from Liverpool.
The 26-year old has penned a FOUR-year deal at Ibrox for a fee which could rise to £4million.
SunSport revealed on Saturday night that the Gers had identified Davies as a potential replacement for Calvin Bassey and were set to launch a bid.
As Bassey was arriving in Amsterdam ahead of his big money move to Ajax, Giovanni van Bronckhorst was moving quickly to replace one of his key men.
A statement read: “Rangers Football Club are delighted to announce the signing of Ben Davies from Liverpool on a 4-year contract.
“The experienced central defender becomes Rangers’ sixth new addition of the summer transfer window.
Davies spent eight years at Preston North End with time on loan at York City, Tranmere Rovers, Southport, Newport County, and Fleetwood Town before joining Liverpool in 2021.
Last season he was on loan at Sheffield United in the English Championship, playing 23 times for the promotion-chasing Blades.
Speaking after signing his contract, Davies said: “I am very excited to join Rangers and I am really looking forward to taking this next step in my career.
“It’s a huge club with big ambitions and I can’t wait to get started.”
Giovanni van Bronckhorst said: “I would like to welcome Ben to our squad and I am delighted he has joined the club. He is a strong defender with great qualities and will further add to our options in that area.”
Sporting Director, Ross Wilson added: “I am delighted Ben has chosen Rangers as the next step in his career and Giovanni and our coaching staff are looking forward to working with him as we head into the new season.”
It could have been very different for Davies – he was close to joining CELTIC back in January 2021.
But the Reds, amid a defensive crisis, came in at the eleventh hour to snap up Davies from Preston on transfer deadline day for a fee of around £2 million.
The move to Anfield didn’t ultimately work out for Davies who didn’t make a single first team appearance under Jurgen Klopp.
He was loaned out to Sheffield United last season where he made 23 appearances in the Championship.
Davies was deemed surplus to requirements at Liverpool, with huge competition for the central defensive places.
Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate all vied for the spots last season, while Joe Gomez is back from injury and has signed a new contract this summer.
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Davies is seen as an almost direct replacement for Bassey.
Like the Nigeria international, Davies can operate both as a centre back and at left back when required.
Although it didn’t work out at Liverpool, he made just shy of 150 appearances for Preston.
He came through the ranks at Deepdale and spent almost a decade with the club’s first team.
While at Preston, Davies had loan spells with the likes of Tranmere, Newport and Fleetwood before establishing himself as a key man for the side.
He becomes Rangers’ sixth summer signing in what has turned out to be busy transfer window at Ibrox.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
