Dujon Sterling insists he is bringing a “winning mentality” to Rangers as he teams up again with Michael Beale.

The 23-year-old defender officially joined the Light Blues from Chelsea on a four-year deal on July 1.

Sterling began his career at the Stamford Bridge club – where he was first coached by the Rangers boss – and had loans spells with Coventry, Wigan, Blackpool and Stoke.

The former England Under-20 player had “quite a few clubs” interested in signing him this summer but he opted to join Beale who is revamping the Gers squad.

Speaking before Rangers’ trip to Germany for a pre-season training camp, which he missed with a knock reportedly not deemed serious, Sterling said: “The first time I ever met him (Beale) I was about seven or eight. At Chelsea you start in development at six and you do that for two years then you join the academy at under-eight.

“He was head of south London – I am from north London – and he was dealing with the under-14s and I was under-13 and I used to play one (year) up with his boys’ age group.

“That’s when I first got coached by him.

“At Chelsea, everything was about winning. You couldn’t take second place. We always had to win and I feel it here as well. You need to win.

“None of my loans have been with winning teams. You have had to dig deep.

“So I have got that mentality, I have the winning mentality and it is now putting them both together to create something here to get the next trophy.”

Sterling, primarily a right-back but who can play on the left, will in the first instance battle with Rangers captain James Tavernier for a starting place but is not fazed by the prospect.

He said: “It is about competing together but I am not just tied down to one role.

“I can play many roles so I don’t fear Tav being the captain, it is about competition.

“You need competition all over the pitch, that’s how everyone will get better. No one slips up, that’s how you stay a winning team and you need that the whole season, plus there is more than one game per week.

“I like to prioritise on my defending. It is really important.

“A lot of defenders now, right-backs, left-backs, they get judged on their stats up the pitch but defensively they are not great.

“So I like to do my defending, win my one-to-one battles and when the chance arrives to go forward, do that and help the team but knowing that my team-mates and manager has trust in me to be able to defend.”

Rangers defender Leon King could miss the start of next season after suffering an ankle injury in training.

The club have announced the 19-year-old will be sidelined for a “significant period of time” after sustaining a blow during a pre-season camp in Germany.

Rangers begin their cinch Premiership campaign away at Kilmarnock on August 5.

A club statement read: “Rangers FC can confirm defender Leon King suffered a contact injury to his ankle at the club’s pre-season training camp in Germany on Monday which will rule him out for a significant period of time.

“Leon is being looked after by the club’s medical staff and a further update will follow in due course. Everyone at the club wishes Leon a speedy recovery.”

Cyriel Dessers knows there is a void to fill at Rangers following Alfredo Morelos’ departure but he is determined to be his own man at Ibrox.

The 28-year-old Nigeria striker became Michael Beale’s sixth signing of the summer transfer window when he joined from Cremonese on a four-year deal for a reported fee of around £4.5 million.

Dessers will be expected to take over from Colombia striker Morelos, who became a fans’ favourite during his six years in Govan where he scored 124 goals before his contract ran out at the end of the season.

Speaking at a media conference from Rangers’ training base in Germany, Dessers said: “Of course Alfredo did amazing things for Rangers at Ibrox so it is never easy to come after a good striker like he was.

“But on the other side I cannot look at the past.

“I am here for the present and for the future and I hope to do some nice things, some good things for Rangers as well and I hope I can build a similar relationship with the fans but that will depend on our relationship and the things I do on the pitch and off the pitch.

“So I am confident that can work.”

Dessers joins Abdallah Sima, Sam Lammers, Jack Butland, Dujon Sterling and Kieran Dowell as Beale’s new boys for the upcoming season, with the promise of more signings to come in the re-build as Rangers look to take the cinch Premiership title as well as both domestic cups back from Old Firm rivals Celtic following their domestic treble last season.

The former Utrecht, Heracles Almelo and Genk player looks forward to a “new wind” at Ibrox.

He said: “Rangers of course is a massive club: the history, the stadium, the fans, even the city, everything is amazing.

“But apart from that, of course I spoke with the manager as well and he spoke about what is going on now.

“After not such an easy season, there is a new wind at the club and I want to be a part of that.

“I am at a good age right now, 28 is the perfect age where physically at your top level and you have gained some experience from the last years.

“So I think that is a perfect time to play for trophies and hopefully win some trophies and of course the mentality of Rangers which is present at this moment in the team already is clear and it is clear that I want to be a part of that.

“I think I can bring some things, not only football-wise but mentality-wise in the locker room and I hope I can play a role as well in that.”

Neil Lennon revealed earlier in the week that Dessers had been on his radar while he was boss at Celtic but the Belgium-born forward is happy to be at the other side of Glasgow.

Dessers said: “I didn’t know about that at the time.

“I spoke a couple of times with Rangers in the past years and the contact has always been close so I am happy to finally be here now.

“The first contact came during Covid and it was a difficult time for a lot of clubs to make deals and after that there was always contact and casual conversations.

“If you scored goals you will probably be on some club’s radar but that is not an issue, I am happy to be here.”

John Souttar believes he will benefit from the rigours of Rangers’ pre-season training as he prepares to battle for his place in Michael Beale’s side next season.

The revamped Light Blues squad are being put through their paces in Germany with a view to a flying start to next season.

Beale has signed six new players, with the promise of more to come, and the Gers defender told RangersTV that he is in a good place.

Souttar, whose  2022/23 season was hampered by injury before he was involved in Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign wins over Norway and Georgia, said: “For me it is the first time in a couple of years I will have had a proper pre-season where I am feeling fit and feeling 100 percent.

“It gives you a base for the rest of the season, you are not catching up with the lads or feeling like you are behind, you are right on it.

“This next week or two will give me a great base to hopefully have an injury-free season, so I am looking forward to it.

“Everyone is really hungry and when there are that number of new boys that come in everyone automatically has got to fight for their shirt.

“It is always the case at Rangers, but even more so now with the amount of quality that has been brought in and I think everyone is aware of that.

“There are only 11 jerseys for the first game of the season so everyone is going to be fighting for it and that can only be a good thing going forward.

“It has got a slightly different feel to it with the new players coming in and I am looking forward to seeing them all in training.

“These few weeks are massive, especially when there are new boys coming in, they are getting a feel for the club and how everyone gets on – off the pitch is as important as on it.

“Especially in pre-season, getting to know everyone’s characters, what they are like and what pushes them, so it is good, and everyone is going to enjoy getting away and enjoy creating bonds.

“I think that is what pre-season is about, when you are at home you don’t really get that 24/7 with the lads and hopefully it is the foundation for a successful season for us.”

Boss Michael Beale believes Nigeria forward Cyriel Dessers will bring “personality and leadership” to his Rangers team.

Dessers became the sixth new arrival at Ibrox this summer upon joining from Cremonese on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance.

“We are delighted to have Cyriel joining our club,” Beale told the official Rangers website after the four-times capped Dessers had completed his move from Italy.

“He brings a lot of experience from playing in Holland, Belgium and Italy, as well as in European competitions.

“We were looking for a very specific profile and believe that Cyriel will give us a variety of qualities both in and out of possession.

“When we met, we spoke at length about his alignment to our style of play and the other forwards we have in our squad.

“At 28-years-old, he is at a good age and will bring personality and leadership to our team. Cyriel pushed extremely hard to make this transfer a reality and showed a huge desire to come here.

“We are very happy to have him and his family joining us at Rangers. He is an excellent addition to our squad and I look forward to working with him closely over the coming seasons.”

Dessers was born in Belgium and spent several seasons in the Belgian Pro-League with OH Leuven, Lokeren and Genk.

He also played for Utrecht, Heracles Almelo and Feyenoord in the Netherlands before joining Cremonese last summer.

“I am really happy, it is a big relief to finally be here,” Dessers said of his Rangers move.

“There have been some long days and some stressful days, but it is a great feeling to finally be here.

“The history of the club, the fans, the stadium, it’s massive but next to that I look at what is here at this moment.

“I had really good talks with Michael Beale about his plans, the ideas of what he wants on and off the pitch and I thought that could be a really good fit for me and for the team so I am happy to be here.”

Jack Butland aims to follow in the footsteps of two Rangers goalkeeping greats as he settles into life with the Ibrox club.

The 30-year-old joined the Light Blues last month on a four-year contract after his release by Crystal Palace and is in line to take over from 41-year-old Allan McGregor, whose time at the Govan outfit came to an end last season.

Appearing at the Rangers Training Centre on Tuesday, two days after the one-year anniversary of the death of former Rangers keeper Andy ‘The Goalie’ Goram, Butland spoke about emulating two Ibrox heroes.

“That’s the plan,” the England international said. “You are talking about two goalies – ‘The Goalie’ and Greegsy (McGregor) – two guys who have an incredible history with the club.

“They knew what Rangers was about. Watching the memorial video to Andy Goram the other day, painted a picture of what he was like, what he meant to the club and what the club meant to him.

“I think that’s what this club is all about. It has a rich history of top goalkeepers and that is something that I will be looking to continue both on and off the pitch, trying to learn about the club, enjoy it, take it all in and hopefully follow in their footsteps which, of course, is a big ask because of what they have done.”

Butland, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Manchester United without playing, won the last of his nine England caps in a friendly win over Switzerland in 2018 and has not given up hope of a return to the international fold but insists it is not his priority.

“I am a patriotic guy,” he said. “My country has always been important to me. To have represented them in the past is an honour.

“Of course I would love to get back to that.

“It is not my sole focus. My focus is to be successful at club level and that is to do my job here and whatever happens with that (England), I have always said, that will take care of itself. That is for others to decide.

“That will only happen if we are doing what we need to do here and I am playing well enough, which at the moment is my sole focus and if that comes, that is a bonus.”

Butland is one of five new signings boss Michael Beale has made this summer and the Ibrox club are on the brink of completing a deal with Cremonese for 28-year-old Nigeria forward Cyriel Dessers.

Rangers on Tuesday announced a friendly against Olympiacos at Ibrox on Wednesday, July 26, to complete their pre-season diary alongside fixtures against Newcastle, Hamburg and Hoffenheim.

The cinch Premiership fixtures have been announced, giving fans plenty to look forward to ahead of the big kick-off on August 5.

Here we look back at six classic top-flight encounters which took place on the opening weekend.

August 1, 1999 – Aberdeen 0 Celtic 5

Celtic’s new managerial partnership of boss John Barnes and director of football Kenny Dalglish were dubbed the Dream Team by the excited Hoops faithful and they got off to the perfect start as Henrik Larsson and Mark Viduka struck twice apiece in a Pittodrie mauling. But Barnes’ Parkhead reign turned into a nightmare and he was sacked following a humiliating Scottish Cup defeat to Inverness.

July 30, 2005, Motherwell 4 Celtic 4

Just two months after having the SPL title ripped out of their hands by two-goal Motherwell striker Scott McDonald on Helicopter Sunday, the Hoops were back at Fir Park with new boss Gordon Strachan in charge, days after a 5-0 Champions League qualifying defeat by Artmedia Bratislava. This time it was the Glasgow giants who were celebrating at the end as Craig Beattie’s injury-time equaliser ensured a first-half John Hartson hat-trick did not go without reward as they claimed a dramatic point, but only after Well came from 3-1 down to lead with the aid of another McDonald goal.

August 2, 2015 Hearts 4 St Johnstone 3

Hearts made their Premiership return in style as Robbie Neilson’s side came out on top in this seven-goal thriller. After unveiling the Championship flag they threatened to blow Saints away early but every time they got their noses in front, back came Tommy Wright’s Perth outfit. In the end it took a close-range Sam Nicholson strike to secure the points.

August 7, 2016 – Hearts 1 Celtic 2

Brendan Rodgers began his first Premiership campaign at Celtic with a late win at Tynecastle as his side kicked off what would be an unbeaten domestic season. With Rangers unfurling the Championship flag before an Ibrox draw with Hamilton, champions Celtic were unusually away from home on the opening day and went into the game following Champions League qualifying wins against Lincoln Red Imps and Astana which had difficult moments. They also had their work cut out in Gorgie after Jamie Walker cancelled out James Forrest’s early opener with a contentious spot-kick. Hearts had a penalty claim denied before substitute Scott Sinclair struck an 81st-minute winner hours after completing a move from Aston Villa.

August 5, 2018 – Aberdeen 1 Rangers 1

Steven Gerrard experienced a roller-coaster ride during his first campaign in charge at Ibrox and there were plenty of thrills and spills during his side’s opening Premiership clash. The Light Blues found themselves a man down at Pittodrie after just 12 minutes as Alfredo Morelos was sent off for a kick out at Dons defender Scott McKenna – a decision later overturned on appeal. Despite their numerical disadvantage Gers dominated and took a deserved lead on the half-hour mark with a James Tavernier penalty. But Gerrard’s league bow ended in disappointment as Bruce Anderson fired home in stoppage-time to hand the hosts a point on his debut.

July 31, 2021 – Hearts 2 Celtic 1

Ange Postecoglou also travelled to Tynecastle for his Scottish football debut, days after Celtic fell to Midjtylland in the Champions League qualifiers. The Australian was still assembling his squad and Carl Starfelt had a shaky debut 24 hours after his first training session, after getting out of quarantine, while Kyogo Furuhashi made a late debut off the bench hours after meeting his new team-mates. Celtic gave Hearts a guard of honour ahead of their hosts unfurling the Championship flag and soon fell behind to Gary Mackay-Steven’s goal. Anthony Ralston hit an impressive equaliser but John Souttar headed an 89th-minute winner to the delight of the 5,272 fans who were back in Tynecastle following Covid restrictions.

Brendan Rodgers will kick off his second spell as Celtic boss with a home game against Ross County on Saturday, August 8.

The curtain raiser for the reigning Scottish Premiership champions at Celtic Park will be televised live on Sky Sports with a 12:30pm kick-off.

Rangers start their first full season with Michael Beale at the helm with a trip to Kilmarnock later the same day, as they seek to win just a second title since 2011 after finishing seven points adrift of Celtic last campaign.

The game at Rugby Park will kick off at 5:15pm and will also be televised live.

The Glasgow rivals meet in the first Old Firm Derby of the season on matchday 4 with the champions travelling to Ibrox on September 3 for an early test of Rodgers’ second incarnation since replacing Ange Postecoglou.

Last season’s third-place side Aberdeen open with a trip to Livingston on the opening day, with Barry Robson looking to build on the strong finish to the last campaign that earned him the manager’s job on a permanent basis after stepping in as caretaker in January.

Hearts begin with an away game against St Johnstone as they look to put behind them the collapse in form from March onwards that cost them third place last season, whilst Saints themselves are looking to make a strong start under Steven MacLean after winning just five times in the league since mid-December.

Dundee mark their return to the top flight at the first attempt with a home game against Motherwell and will be hoping to make their stay a longer one than the single season they managed last time they were up, particularly after they replaced relegated city rivals Dundee United who were relegated.

Hibernian and St Mirren, who finished fifth and sixth last term, open with a meeting at Easter Road.

The second round of fixtures, currently scheduled for August 12 before TV selections are made, will see Celtic travel to Aberdeen and Rangers host Livingston, whilst fans will have to wait until October 7 for the first Edinburgh derby of the season, which will take place at Tynecastle.

The traditional New Year head-to-head between Rangers and Celtic is scheduled for December 30 with a 12:30pm kick-off at Celtic Park, whilst the final meeting before the league splits will be at Ibrox on April 6.

Rangers have failed in a bid for Feyenoord striker Danilo, according to reports.

However, the Ibrox club reportedly remain in talks over taking the Brazilian to Ibrox.

Reports in the Netherlands claim Rangers came nowhere the Dutch champions’ valuation of the 24-year-old with their initial offer.

Danilo joined Feyenoord from Ajax last summer and scored 12 goals in his first season in Rotterdam.

Rangers have also been linked with a loan move for Brighton forward Abdallah Sima and are said to be interested in BK Hacken striker Benie Traore.

New signing Sam Lammers is hoping to become “settled” at Rangers in the coming years after spending much of his time as an Atalanta player out on loan.

The 26-year-old forward joined the Serie A side three years ago from PSV Eindhoven but he made just one start for the Bergamo outfit and was farmed out three times, to Eintracht Frankfurt, Empoli and Sampdoria.

Having signed a four-year contract with Rangers, Lammers is confident he will be given a proper chance to establish himself at Ibrox as he bids to get his career back on track.

“This is what I’ve been searching for,” he told Sky Sports. “After this season I made it clear for myself that I wanted a new place to settle down, a new home because even last year I was at two clubs and before that I was on loan in Germany.

“I think now is time to settle somewhere and it’s good to sign a permanent deal with Rangers. The confidence of the club is key for me to sign.

“Coming into a new country is not easy. When you go from Holland to Italy it’s a change of language, a change of culture and everything.

“It gets easier but you feel at home after one year or six months, you need time to settle, and it didn’t happen for me in the last two years so I’m happy that I have the possibility to do that here.”

During his first loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt, Lammers encountered the Rangers support for the first time. The Dutchman was an unused sub for the Bundesliga side as they defeated the Gers on penalties in the Europa League final in Seville just over a year ago.

“When we got to the final, it felt as if it was the best-supported clubs of the Europa League colliding,” said Lammers.

“It was, from both sides, very impressive. At that game you could see how big the club is and how it lives here in Scotland also.”

Lammers has scored only 27 career goals, the majority of which came on loan at Heerenveen in 2018-19. However, he insists his game is about more than just scoring.

“I know for a striker the main target is to score a lot of goals and I know I can do that also,” he said. “I’m aware of this being a big part of being a striker and this is also my goal at Rangers to do that, but I’m not a typical striker who is only hanging inside the box for his one or two chances.

“I want to help the team, I can drop out of the striker position. With my legs you would expect me maybe to be a target man but that’s not what I am.

“I want to score more goals again because I know I have it in me. In the past I scored a lot of goals then in the last couple of years not so much, but sometimes in the clubs I was at it wasn’t easy as you didn’t get a lot of chances.

“I think the attacking style of play at Rangers also fits me.”

Former Rangers striker Mark Hateley believes his old club need to sign two forwards who can outscore James Tavernier or they will not stop Celtic dominating Scottish football.

Right-back Tavernier was the club’s top league goalscorer last term with 16 goals and his total in all competitions of 18 was the same as Antonio Colak.

Fashion Sakala and the now departed Alfredo Morelos both hit 12 while Celtic’s main striker Kyogo Furuhashi weighed in with 34 goals on the way to the club’s fifth treble in seven seasons.

Hateley said: “We need two strikers that can score more than a right-back to win anything. It’s as simple as that.

“We need strikers that can get more goals than the captain to have a chance of competing at the very top. And that doesn’t come cheap.

“I think you need to bring in three strikers that are all credible and can produce.”

Colak’s future looks unclear after he only scored four goals and struggled for fitness following Michael Beale’s arrival, while Sakala played in a central role at times and on the wing on other occasions.

On Sakala, Hateley said: “He’s a young lad so he will develop as time goes on but if you are working with top goalscorers, your game comes on a lot quicker. I think he would probably become more of a squad player.

“The key now is to get two strikers in the team. It’s now easier because Alfredo has left the club because it was always difficult to play another player with Alfredo. He was the lone wolf with players playing around him but Michael now has the ability to play with two strikers, different formations.”

Hateley does not necessarily believe Ange Postecoglou’s departure from Celtic Park to Tottenham is in itself an opportunity for Rangers.

“You could say so but the structure that Celtic have in place, I don’t think a lot will change,” he said.

“I don’t know if Ange can take players with him but what Ange has done has been absolutely phenomenal, and the way the board have trusted him in his methodology and his way of thinking has been commendable.

“Top coaches like a challenge and they like to challenge the best. Ange has produced that. It’s always great competition, if you have two great teams on the pitch who are competing to prove who has the edge, and it’s the same with managers. You need managers to push each other.”

Hateley was promoting the Glasgow European Capital of Sport 2023 Refugee Football Tournament, which will feature players from more than 50 nations at Toryglen Regional Football Centre on July 2.

The former England striker said: “Refugees are coming to all different parts of the world and trying to find homes and friendships and where better to come than Glasgow, Scotland? Always welcoming, hence why I am still here.

“Football is a medium where friendships are built so it’s an important factor. It’s a fantastic initiative.”

Michael Beale is looking to the Rangers academy for players to play their part on and off the park.

The Gers manager is revamping his squad this summer in a bid to turn the tables on domestic treble winners Celtic, but saleable assets are in short supply.

Rangers sold youth product Nathan Patterson to Everton in January 2022 for a reported £12million.

Midfielder Joe Aribo, brought from Charlton in 2019, was sold to Southampton last summer for a reported fee of £6million while defender and fellow Nigeria international Calvin Bassey, recruited from Leicester in 2020, joined Ajax for a fee widely reported as around £20million.

Gers boss Beale told Sky Sports Scotland that the Ibrox club need to generate more wealth while keeping results positive.

He said: “Everyone just wants you to win. I need to win and put some stability into the club, some harmony, some players in it which I feel can grow for the next two or three years here.

“That there’s a value on their head as well if they do well that we can trade and start again in terms of bringing other players in.

“If we look at the last 12 to 14 months, Nathan Patterson left the building, (as did) Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey for the outlay of which was probably under £500,000.

“For the finance that we brought in, it was great but it’s important you have a conveyor belt behind it.

“It’s important the links between me and the academy are really strong to open a pathway.

“We have had a number of academy players on the pitch this year but who’s going to stay in?

“Who’s going to be a mainstay? Who’s going to be a marquee player for Rangers?

“The fans and the outside media will just look every three to five days when you play.

“Win, lose or draw that’s how they’ll deem success. I need to win. The team need to win. My staff need to win. But we also need to make sure we build a really strong club moving forward.”

Michael Beale is looking to insert a “spine” of longevity into his Rangers squad which can help wrest the cinch Premiership title back from Celtic.

The Ibrox club ended the season trophy-less with their Old Firm rivals clinching the domestic treble to make it five trophies out of six in the last two campaigns.

Beale, who took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst last November, brought in Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin during the January transfer window and so far this summer he has added 25-year-old midfielder Kieran Dowell from Norwich and 23-year-old right-back Dujon Sterling from Chelsea, with goalkeeper Jack Butland due to join from Crystal Palace in July.

Asked how Rangers bridge the gap to Celtic next season, the former QPR boss told Sky Sports Scotland: “We start how we’re ending with our style being very clear, our energy being very strong on the pitch in terms of our pressing and the bits out of possession.

“Make sure that we’re really hard to beat then allow our quality to come through.

“We’ll look to recruit a spine that’s enabled to stay at Rangers for the next three to five years to build on.

“You’ve seen the start of that with Nico Raskin and Todd Cantwell coming in and Kieran Dowell. We’ll look to add to that with a little bit of experience but certainly in terms of quality in the final third.

“You’ll be able to tell by my face at the start of pre-season whether I’ve been successful in getting everyone that I want but either way we’ll come back into pre-season next year with a few new ideas that I’ve wanted to implement.

“We need to go and recruit a certain type of player for that. We’ll come back stronger.

“Our league form in the last 24 games would say if we can get to that stage where we are now, we’ll be in the mix.

“It’ll be about getting to the March international break where we need to be and then going for it.”

Beale, former assistant coach to Steven Gerrard at Rangers, started last season as boss of QPR before returning to Ibrox to take over the hot seat.

Assessing a first year in management, he said: “It’s probably everything I wished it to be in terms of being a natural transition from being an assistant for many years.

“My desire was to become a manager. Two different leagues in one season, a lot of drama in between but I’ve had a lot of experience in that.

“The size of the clubs are different. I loved my time at Queens Park Rangers with Les Ferdinand and the staff there. It was really important to me before coming back to Rangers.

“The opportunity to come here, I didn’t think would come anywhere as near as quickly as it did. This is a juggernaut of a club and everything that comes with it but I’ve been pleased with my staff and how they’ve handled it.

“I’ve been pleased with the support I’ve had from the club and everybody around the backroom team.

“There’s a tinge of disappointment because I felt we could have done better. We’ve won a lot of games but in the real key moments we’ve tended to shoot ourselves in the foot.

“That will be in the forefront of my mind going for the recruitment this summer.

“It’s a really important summer for me, the football club, the fans and ultimately for the players in the squad as well.”

Rangers have confirmed goalkeeper Jack Butland has agreed a four-year contract to join the club from Crystal Palace.

Butland, who has most recently been on loan at Manchester United, will officially move to Ibrox on July 1, subject to international clearance.

The 30-year-old has signed after first-choice goalkeeper Allan McGregor retired at the end of the season. Jon McLaughlin and Robby McCrorie remain under contract.

“I’m over the moon,” Butland told Rangers’ official website. “The club speaks for itself. No matter where you are in football, you know about Rangers Football Club. This is a huge opportunity for me, and I’m delighted to be here.

“I feel great and motivated at the age that I am, and I feel excited at what the future holds. Doing that at a club that is equally as passionate about winning and being at the top was huge for me.

“It’s an important summer for the club and we need to get off to a good start. Getting the work done early is hugely important, so that we’re settled and raring to go when we come back in.”

Butland joins Kieran Dowell and Dujon Sterling as new signings for Rangers and manager Michael Beale is happy to bring in a player of the goalkeeper’s experience.

Beale: “I am delighted that we have recruited Jack. It was clear from our first meeting that we have a strong alignment on football and his development moving forward.

“At 30, he is coming into the prime years of his career having already amassed huge experience with 300 appearances in senior football, including almost 90 in the Premier League.

“In addition, he has played for England at every level, including nine caps for the senior team and five for the Great Britain Olympic team.

“I feel that we have recruited an excellent goalkeeper and, importantly, a top person. We are delighted to have Jack and his young family arriving in Glasgow and look forward to seeing him excel in his time at Rangers.”

Rangers have announced the signing of Chelsea right-back Dujon Sterling.

The 23-year-old will join on a four-year contract on July 1 when his Chelsea deal expires.

The versatile player made two substitute outings for Chelsea in cup competitions but has made more than 100 first-team appearances across loan spells with Coventry, Wigan, Blackpool and Stoke. He played 28 times this season with Sky Bet Championship side Stoke.

Rangers manager Michael Beale told his club’s official website: “I am delighted to welcome Dujon to Rangers, he is an exciting young player who, I’m sure, will be a great addition to our squad.

“He is someone I was aware of from my time at Chelsea, and I have always kept an eye on his career as it has progressed.

“He is a very powerful and strong defender, who has fantastic attacking qualities and I look forward to working with him at Rangers.”

Sterling added: “I am really excited to come to such a big club, there’s a lot of history and the supporters are so passionate, so I am thrilled.

“I wasn’t expecting to make my mind up about my future this quickly, but the gaffer came in for me straight away and what he proposed to me was everything that I believe I need.

“We were on the same wavelength, he believes in me and I believe in what he is trying to do as well so it was a no-brainer for me to come.”

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