Gers turn to Senderos after Lescott hitch

RANGERS: Warburton search for defender goes on as move for Villa man falls through

Rangers manager Mark Warburton could turn to Philippe Senderos in his search for a fourth centre-back after Joleon Lescott’s move fell through.

Warburton had expressed optimism on Thursday over the chance of signing Lescott, and the Aston Villa defender subsequently visited Glasgow.

But the move collapsed yesterday morning, with Rangers citing family reasons as the reason Lescott will not be signing for the club.

Villa owner Tony Xia had confirmed his club would pay a portion of Lescott’s wages on the final year of his contract, but Sunderland have also been linked with the 34-year-old.

Rangers are still on course to sign Preston striker Joe Garner in a £1.5 million deal, but it is unlikely to be completed before today’s Ladbrokes Premiership clash with Motherwell.

And they have another option to complete their summer transfer business in Senderos. The 31-year-old former Arsenal defender is a free agent and has been training with the club.

Warburton spoke of the former Fulham and Villa player, who had a short spell with Grasshoppers earlier this year, as a serious option.

“I can’t speak highly enough of Philippe Senderos,” Warburton said. “He hadn’t been training with a team for a few weeks but his level of fitness is outstanding. His CV is well documented but his level of fitness and the way he fitted into the group has been first class. He dealt with training all week effortlessly.

“We have to look at a number of options and I’ve been very, very impressed by Philippe. Obviously he won’t be involved at the weekend. He is going back to Geneva for a couple of days, but we are very pleased with what we have seen.

“But, again, we have to make sure we look at all our options and treat people the right way as well. Players want honest feedback and we will always do that to the players. That leaves us in good stead if we do it that way.”

Whoever comes in to bolster the defence, centre-back Danny Wilson has vowed to keep his place while learning from their experience.

The former Liverpool and Hearts player made 42 appearances last season but he and Rob Kiernan already have added competition from Clint Hill.

“You try and learn from every player, whether they be young or old, in your position or in a different position, you try and take something from every player you can,” he said.

“I don’t think I’d be doing my job if I wasn’t trying to learn from experienced players who are coming in. They have obviously played at a high level throughout their career.

“Any little bit you can take from them is important because I am still relatively young in terms of being a defender, I am only 24.

“So what I can learn will hopefully add to my game and still play my own game at the same time, it can only benefit me.”

“I don’t think I’d be doing my job if I wasn’t trying to learn from experienced players who are coming in. DANNY WILSON

Picture: SNS Group. Philippe Senderos at training with the Rangers squad yesterday.