Newcastle United youngster Sean Longstaff is the latest rising star linked with a bargain move to Scottish Premiership giants Rangers.
What do Sean Longstaff, Tyler Roberts, Jamie Walker and Kenny McLean have in common? They have all been linked with moves to Rangers in recent times. And, interestingly, all are out of contract at the end of this season.
The Sunday Post stated that Rangers were hopeful of landing winger Walker from Hearts and midfielder McLean from Aberdeen either in a cut-price January deal or in a pre-contract agreement with their deals due to expire in the summer. Both deals now look unlikely now, however, with Walker expected to move elsewhere and McLean looking like staying at Pittodrie.
But they are not the only soon-to-be free agents tipped to move to Ibrox. The Mail linked Rangers with Roberts, an 18-year-old striker who West Brom are desperately attempting to stop leaving The Hawthorns on a free.
And The Chronicle has reported on Friday that the Ibrox club are keeping a close eye on Newcastle United’s Blackpool loanee Sean Longstaff, the six-goal midfielder also set to be available for nothing in just a few months’ time.
There may be a trend developing here? And it is an intelligent one at that.
After all, money is most certainly an object at Rangers, who quite literally cannot afford to just throw money around in the transfer market. They overspent on a number of underperforming signings in the summer, such as Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera, and are paying the price.
After a summer of overindulgence, the 2018 transfer window could see an entirely different approach from Rangers, aimed at signing rising stars whose contract situation renders them not just affordable but free.
Signing young and promising players on bargain deals underlines a low risk strategy with potentially huge rewards. It certainly looks a better plan on paper than bringing in a raft of unproven and unknown imports for big wages and even bigger fees.
Maybe they have learned their lesson.
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