Former Rangers star seeking another transfer after being stripped of captaincy and released by latest club

Former Rangers defender Filip Helander will attempt to resurrect his career in Cyprus with Neil Lennon’s former employers, Omonia Nicosia after a shock departure from his most recent club.

The Swedish international - who left Ibrox as a free agent last summer after missing almost two years of competitive action through injury - was surprisingly released by Danish side Odense at the end of the season after being handed the role of club captain.

His exit came just six months after the Superliga outfit turned down two bids from Belgian giants Anderlecht for the 31-year-old centre-back in January. Helander looked to have put his rotten injury luck behind him by making 22 appearances for Odense last term, winning a recall to the Sweden National Team in the process.

However, he was dropped from the starting XI by manager Søren Krogh towards the end of the campaign and stripped of the captain’s armband before being informed he could leave the club. And a shock move to the Cypriot First Division now looks to be in the pipeline after Omonia offered him a one-year deal.

They finished 10 points behind reigning champions APOEL down in fifth place last term and their Lithuanian boss Valdas Dambrauskas views Helander as the ideal fit to shore up their backline next season.

He made just 35 league starts for the Gers after making a £3.5million switch from Bologna five years ago, which included netting the only goal of the game against Old Firm rivals Celtic in August 2021.