Rangers Football Club has been a hive of activity in the early stages of the transfer window, and Michael Beale could be close to making Jonathan Panzo his fifth signing of the summer.
The Gers have been linked to the Nottingham Forest centre-back, who spent last season on loan at Coventry City, with Euan Robertson reporting that the player and Beale have been in “positive dialogue” about a transfer to Ibrox.
The Daily Record stated on 11 June that Rangers were closing in on a deal for the 22-year-old, who could be set to follow Kieran Dowell, Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling and Sam Lammers through the doors.
And recent images of Panzo on Instagram (17 June) have now added further fuel to the fire, with the defender pictured in a training camp in Mykonos performance gym on Saturday (17 June) alongside the likes of Leeds United attacker Joe Gelhardt.
Images such as this will leave chins wagging within the Rangers fanbase and could further suggest that a transfer is close as he looks to get himself in peak physical condition for pre-season.
For a fee of just £2.2million, this looks like a brilliant option for the club to pursue this summer.
The 22-year-old has previous links with Beale during their times together at Chelsea, while Ross Wilson’s position at Nottingham Forest could help a deal get brokered between the two parties.
Panzo has underlying technical qualities that are rare to find in centre-backs and he could offer another dynamic to the Gers’ current first-team options of Connor Goldson, John Souttar and Ben Davies.
The latter struggled for form throughout the finishing stages of the 2022/23 season and could be ousted out of contention if Panzo is snapped up.
Despite the Premier League season finishing just over a fortnight ago, the Chelsea academy graduate looks ready and raring to go.
Where he will be plying his trade though, is still very much up for debate.