Leon Balogun lifts lid on Rangers return, Michael Beale texts and how he sold Ibrox move to Cyriel Dessers

Leon Balogun won’t be too upset if his first paycheck since re-signing for Rangers has not been supplemented by a recruitment fee for helping sell the Ibrox club to Cyriel Dessers.

Leon Balogun in training yesterday. He has reunited with former Rangers teammates Kemar Roofe and Borna Barisic, pictured behind him (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

As happy as he was to act as a go-between as Dessers considered Rangers’ interest, the greatest payback is the chance to pull on a light blue jersey himself once again. His last appearance was the Scottish Cup win over Hearts in May last year.

Shortly after detailing to Dessers, his Nigerian teammate, just how big Rangers are, Balogun was contacted by his agent with some good news. A club had come in for him too. Oh, really? Balogun was tired. Could the news wait until the morning? No? Well, who is it? "It's only wee Glasgow Rangers,” his agent replied.

The funny thing was that Balogun had actually just texted Michael Beale, the manager who had already signed him once before – for Queens Park Rangers a year ago. “Who do I send the invoice to?” Balogun had cheekily enquired, after he had come off the phone to Dessers having encouraged - no, demanded - that he put pen to paper. You might think Rangers are a big club, he told the then Cremonese striker, but you won’t truly know how big until you arrive there.

Now Balogun himself can help Dessers settle. The 35-year-old defender’s fortune has come at the expense of Leon King, the young defender whose ankle roll in training sent Beale back to his contacts’ book. He didn’t have to flick too far. Balogun has long been a favourite of his. The feeling is mutual.

They worked together in their first spell at Ibrox under Steven Gerrard. The well-travelled Balogun says he found a home at Ibrox. He did not want to leave but was allowed to do so by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Gerrard's successor. The Dutchman decided against re-signing him last summer.

Although out of contract, Balogun had returned for pre-season in the hope he might win another deal. It was a blow when he was told there was nothing for him and he ended up at QPR with Beale. But the manager left to return to Rangers and Balogun had to form another relationship with his successor, Gareth Ainsworth.

They got on well and although again out of contract, Balogun joined the side on their pre-season training camp in Austria earlier this month. But then word came of interest from Rangers. "I never had a team I wholeheartedly supported," recalled Balogun yesterday, with reference to growing up in Germany. It's clear Rangers are now that team. He even came up to watch the final Old Firm match of last season and cheered alongside the fans around him as the Ibrox side won 3-0.

Now he can look forward to contributing on the pitch once again. How pivotal a part did Beale play in his return? “He was the one who decided he wanted to work with me again so obviously it was colossal," said Balogun. “That’s maybe a bit dramatic but he’s quite an important figure in this whole thing. The funny thing is that the same night my agent texted me [to tell me about Rangers’ interest] I actually texted the manager to say congratulations on signing Cyriel. I was joking to him and asked, ‘Where should I send the invoice?’ Obviously I was talking to Cyriel too."

Beale replied and asked Balogun how he was. However, the manager gave nothing away at that point with regards to his interest in him. "He must have already spoken to my agent, so he left me completely in the dark," said Balogun. "But yeah, I get along with him great. I really enjoy working with him. Even today we had a meeting in the morning. I won’t share what he said but he gets you to think and engages with the players.

“I think he educates players beyond football and that’s something very special, especially nowadays when man management is more important than ever. We’ve all just seen the Deli Alli interview and I think we can avoid these situations if you work on a relationship. You can never make everybody happy but you can make them feel respected and appreciated and I think he’s very good at that."

As for Dessers, Balogun described the striker as laid back and approachable, although hard to like if you are playing against him. "On the pitch he's a pest," said Balogun. "Honestly, I was surprised. He’s pretty strong. I remember I had a conversation with Soutts (John Souttar) the other day and asked what he thought of him. He said, 'Oh my god, he’s so strong'.

"You don’t really expect that. He’s good in front of the goal as well and I think we’re going to get a lot of joy out of him. He just needs to get up and running."

Balogun warned supporters not to judge Dessers next to Alfredo Morelos, whose latter struggles cannot obscure how effective - and popular - he was in his first seasons. Balogun is confident Dessers can strike up a similar relationship with the Ibrox fans but he will prove that he's his own man.

“He’s a different player from Alfredo,” he said. “Alfredo has done what he’s done and deserves all the praise for it. But I think no-one is doing Cyriel any favours if you compare and ask how he is compared to Morelos.

“I think everybody should just start with a clean slate, look at Cyriel and see what he brings to the table. He's got physical attributes and a good football brain."