Rangers reveal 7th summer signing as familiar face returns ‘home' for second Ibrox spell

Leon Balogun has completed his return to Rangers – insisting it “feels like coming home” after signing a one-year deal with the club.

The 35-year-old defender departed Ibrox last summer after previous manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst opted against renewing his contract. He has spent last season at Queens Park Rangers in the English Championship, where he made 16 appearances, scoring one goal as the Londoners narrowly avoided relegation.

Rangers boss Michael Beale previously worked with the Nigerian international during his spell on Steven Gerrard’s backroom staff, and was in need of defensive reinforcement after Leon King suffered an injury at the club’s training camp in Germany that is set to rule the youngster out for a significant period of time.

“Leon is a person that I have full trust in both as a footballer and a man,” Beale said. “He is extremely well-liked by everyone inside the club, and we are very happy to have someone with his experience and leadership qualities re-joining our squad. Naturally he will integrate back into the club very quickly and he understands fully our way of working and style of play. As a free agent, we were able to move quickly so that he could join us here in Germany. It was really nice to see the reception he received from the players and staff on joining us here at the camp.”

Leon Balogun has rejoined Rangers following his departure from Queens Park Rangers. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Balogun revealed his excitement at rejoining the club he helped to the Scottish Premiership title in 2020-21 as well as the Europa League final in 2022. “I am just excited to be honest, it is still a bit unreal but it is very real, so I am just really really happy to be back at Rangers – it feels like coming home,” he said. “Since I have left, I have always felt a lot of appreciation and love from friends I have made in Glasgow and around the club and now that I am back it is nice to say the least. I know second is no option, I know what people are going to say very quickly if we are not performing so it is time to get to work, put our best foot forward and make sure we get the results that we need.”