The 25-year-old has put pen to paper on a four-year deal, making him the sixth signing of the summer by the Ibrox club.

Goldson played three times in the English Premier League for Chris Hughton’s side last term after being absent for almost a year.

The ex-Shrewsbury star was forced to undergo heart surgery after a defect was discovered which could have cost him his life.

The defender admits that getting a second chance played a part in his decision to leave the South Coast and join the Scottish Premiership side.

He told Rangers.co.uk: “I am delighted to join Rangers, even though it hasn’t taken that long to sign it seems like it has taken forever.

“I am just pleased to finally get it done and to get the chance to showcase my abilities at a massive club with a huge fan base.

Connor Goldson in action for Brighton. Picture: Getty

“I probably could have stayed at Brighton. They weren’t really desperate for me to go but I think at this stage, at 25-years-old and with the operation I obviously had, it just made me hungrier to want to play football.

“That put a lot of things in perspective and one of those things was to just play as much as I could.

“Those two years have been tough for me personally but now I have the opportunity to get back playing every week and show what I can do.

“I am tall, I am athletic, I can move, I am quite quick and I like to think I am good on the ball, I always want the ball and I want to play. That has been drilled into me from a young age and even more so at Brighton.

“At the same time I want to keep a clean sheet and that is my job. I think I am a leader and can lead a back four or back five or whatever the manager ends up playing.

Like fellow centre-back Nikola Katic, who agreed to a four-year deal with Rangers yesterday, Goldson says his decision was swayed by the prospect of working with manager Steven Gerrard.

Goldson grew up a Liverpool fan idolising the Kop hero, though he knows he’ll have to knuckle down to impress his new head coach.

He added: “Steven Gerrard had a massive influence on my decision to sign. When he first spoke to me I didn’t really know what I was doing, there were a few clubs interested in me in the Championship and I didn’t really know what to do.

“We carried on speaking and he has been brilliant with me, he said I could speak to him whenever I wanted to or whatever I was thinking.

“We spoke quite a lot over the summer and it got to the point where I sat down with my family and I thought it was the right decision to make for myself and for them. For us all to be happy and for me to be playing football every week at a huge club.

“Now he is my manager and I want to be able to learn off him as a coach and as a manager. I don’t really think there is going to be time for me to be star struck and be in awe of him.”

Rangers confirm signing of Brighton defender Connor Goldson