Ben Godfrey's turbulent journey to Rangers: From hometown beginnings, to big-money transfers and Serie A struggles

For Ben Godfrey, he’s encountered it all since starting out as an academy product at hometown club York City. A high-risk, high-reward type of player whose career has stalled in recent years due to a combination of injuries and physical setbacks.

Those of an Everton persuasion will recall his promising early days at Goodison Park where he broke into the first-team under Carlo Ancelotti after sealing a £25m transfer from Norwich City, making his senior debut against Merseyside rivals Liverpool. A player of serious potential at the time, the lingering effects of a broken leg and long COVID sapped his pace and form, leading to his eventual departure.

Since then, Godfrey has toiled. He ventured out to Italy in June 2024 after signing for Atalanta in a deal worth around £11m, but his time in Serie A hasn’t gone to plan. Various loan spells have followed over the past 18 months with Rangers now the beneficiaries this time around.

The athletic central defender is now determined to find a new home at Ibrox and prove to new Rangers manager Derek McInnes that the club’s option to buy him for £3.8m at the end of his season-long loan stint next summer could be a masterstroke, should the move go to plan.

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With 110 English Premier League appearances across spells with Everton and Norwich, Godfrey brings strong pedigree, valuable experience and leadership to McInnes’ new-look squad. Yet, fan sentiment remains heavily divided.

So what made the pressure and demands of Rangers such an attractive proposition? “I think the characteristics of the club suit me,” the 28-year-old admitted. “When I look at the history and the size of the club, I think it’s the perfect place to be for me. I’m looking forward to all the challenges. I’m excited to work under the manager. It’s going to be an exciting year.

“These are the type of clubs that you want to play for in your career. When you watch games as a kid, there’s always old games that Rangers are involved. It’s a club that’s recognised worldwide, and that’s where you want to be as a player — with this shirt on, representing this badge.”

Godfrey eager to get faltering career back on track

Determined to get his faltering career back on track, the England international - capped twice in 2021 - looks back on a turbulent few years on and off the pitch as a positive learning curve.

He stated: “I’ve had all sorts of experiences throughout my career — the very top and obviously the very lowest as well. I think that’s just football, you’ve just got to ride them out. It’s made me the person and the player that I am today. I don’t regret anything throughout my career. I learn from every day, every week that goes by. I can use all that playing experience and off-pitch experience to be as successful as I can here.

“Covid was a crazy time, but that is all behind me now. I had to work hard to get over it — I think that comes with age too. Appreciating the good times in football, a career goes by so quickly, and you learn to enjoy every second of it — the tough times and the good times. You’ve got to embrace every second, because once it’s done, it’s done. My mindset now is just to enjoy it, learn as much as I can, and be as successful as I can.”

Godfrey has no regrets over Italian move

Moving to Italy took Godfrey out of his comfort zone. Ultimately, he has found regular minutes hard to come by under Gian Piero Gasperini, with just five substitute appearances in total. But he stands by his decision.

“It was completely different,” he reflected. “I give credit to any player that moves out of their home country to start a new life and play football — it’s difficult. I learnt a lot football-wise; the game is played completely differently, tactically and technically, which is a good experience. Although I didn’t get many minutes there, there’s still plenty of things I can take from that period. I ended up learning a little bit of Italian too, which is interesting. People can look back and say I didn’t play many games, but it was a chapter I took stuff from.”

Now looking to start afresh in Glasgow after a spending the second half of last season with Danish outfit Brondby, Godfrey is hungry to get back to the level that helped him earn international recognition.

As for a potential recall to the Three Lions set-up in the future, he responded: “It’s always the same answer when it comes to the national team — I got a taste of it before, and every player’s dream is to represent their country. I’ve always got that hunger. But club football comes first — if that’s successful and I’m performing consistently, the rest will take care of itself. My focus is on playing well for Rangers, working hard this pre-season, and winning games for this football club.”