Philippe Clement had a point to make during his press conference after Rangers' 2-1 defeat against Birmingham - so much so, that he returned to the room after the initial round of questioning finished.

"Todd Cantwell came to me in my office a while ago, and we have a really good relationship so we talked for [a long time], to say that he feels ready for another adventure and challenge," he said.

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"I spoke for long with him because I think Rangers is a really good club for him and I wanted to give him time also. That's why in the last couple of weeks I didn't speak about it. But he came back with the same request. I am going to be focused on the guys who in their heads are focused on Rangers."

Clement has, publicly, tried to protect Cantwell while he's mulled over the decision. Last night's public announcement that he wants to leave the club will spell the end of 18 months at Ibrox. A little under two weeks ago when asked by journalists in the Netherlands following a 2-1 defeat against Ajax whether Cantwell was carrying a small injury, he said: "Todd was also not ready, we will see the next couple of weeks, it is small things with him."

Rangers have been open to offers for Cantwell all summer at the right price, like the majority of their squad. The 26-year-old playmaker who was brought to the club under Michael Beale endured a stop-start 2023/24 campaign, suffering two injuries and adapting to a new style of play under Clement. The Belgian memorably substituted the club's No.13 after just 37 minutes in a 1-1 Europa League draw with Aris Limassol, but Cantwell did return in excellent form at the start of 2024 before suffering an injury away at St Johnstone.

Meanwhile, Connor Goldson had travelled with the Rangers squad to Birmingham for yesterday's friendly before leaving the camp for talks. The 31-year-old defender had flown to Cyprus on Sunday due to interest from Aris but is not yet believed to have yet undergone a medical. The Rangers Review understands Aris are the club with a "concrete" bid for the centre-back, however.

"No he is not in Cyprus," Clement said during last night's press conference.

(Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group)

"He was with us this afternoon so it was the idea to play with Connor and start like that but there is now concrete interest for him and I allowed him to travel back to have these talks. It's not too far away."

Vaclav Cerny is close to becoming Rangers' sixth signing of the summer on loan from Wolfsburg. As the Rangers Review revealed yesterday, the 26-year-old winger is a player that Clement and head of recruitment Nils Koppen want to bring to Ibrox. Cerny is in advanced talks with the club to join up at Ibrox for the 2024/25 campaign. 

Cerny moved to Wolfsburg from FC Twente in the summer of 2023 and was part of the Czech Republic squad at Euro 2024. A left-footed winger who predominantly plays on the right wing, he remains under contract in Germany until 2027.