NILE Ranger has offered to come back to Southend United for free.

Ranger has been without a club since the Shrimpers terminated his contract in January 2018.

But the controversial striker now insists he would return to Roots Hall without even being paid.

Ranger tweeted: "I would come and play for free to help the Shrimpers. I owe it to the fans."

The former Newcastle United striker scored 10 goals in 49 games for Blues but was regularly fined for poor time keeping.

The 28-year-old also spent 10 weeks in prison while with the Shrimpers for online bank fraud.