‘Doing everything to keep him’: Manager reacts after Rangers’ links with his £2.7m loanee

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Steven Gerrard’s Rangers reportedly want West Ham loanee Sead Haksabanovic, as do Premier League duo Arsenal and Manchester United.

Rangers are interested in West Ham’s forgotten man Sead Haksabanovic but Norrkoping have not given up hope of signing their in-form loanee on a permanent basis, club manager Jens Gustafsson has told Hallandsposten.

Hammers fans would be forgiven if they had forgotten all about a player who moved to England as a little-known teenager three years ago. Haksabanovic, a £2.7 million arrival from Halmstads, has made just two first-team appearances for the London giants and has instead been forced to make a name for himself on loan away from the London Stadium.

But make a name for himself he certainly has.

The jet-heeled winger has already produced eight goals and eight games for Norrkoping. According to Fotbolskanalen, those exceptional displays have caught the eye of Rangers, as well as Manchester United and Arsenal.

Three of Britain’s biggest clubs are reported to have watched Haksabanovic in action during an Atlantic Cup clash with Brondby.

Manager Gustafsson, reacting to the speculation, has admitted that he would move heaven and earth to keep the 20-year-old in Sweden, but whether Norrkoping can finance a deal remains to be seen.

“We are doing everything in our power to keep him in IFK Norrkoping after the summer,” said Gustafsson.

“But it is clear that we have a responsibility towards the club’s finances and so on – but it is clear that we have been and still are prepared to move to our limits when it comes to those pieces. Because we would love to keep Sead.”

The left-winger is due to leave Norrkoping at the end of June and, by that time, there should be room in Rangers’ squad for a new wide man with Sheyi Ojo expected to return to parent club Liverpool at the conclusion of the campaign.