Rangers have already had a busy summer having mostly focused on adding young signings for the future under Philippe Clement.
Missing out on the Scottish Premiership title to bitter rivals Celtic was a real blow, especially as the Bhoys stumbled at times.
Rangers just didn’t take full advantage and must now build around manager Philippe Clement in his first summer transfer window.
Rangers have added young talent so far this summer with Jefte, Oscar Cortes, Clinton Nsiala, Connor Barron and Hamza Igamane – all 21 or under – arriving at Ibrox.
Returning goalkeeper Liam Kelly offers experience at 28 but John Lundstram, Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe and Borna Barisic have all moved on.
James Tavernier is attracting interest too with Giovanni van Bronckhorst keen to take him to Besiktas in Turkey.
That is a lot of experience leaving Rangers and it would make sense to bring in a veteran presence to help these young signings settle in.
Kenny McLean on Rangers
Few were surprised when Kenny McLean was linked with a move to Ibrox.
The Daily Record reported in June that Rangers were interested in bringing McLean to Glasgow from Norwich City.
This is a rumour which seems to appear in every transfer window, but Rangers’ need for experience meant this time felt even more realistic.
McLean hails from Glasgow, spent time in the Rangers ranks and even grew up supporting the club.
Speaking in 2022, McLean admitted that his family would be ‘over the moon’ if he ever signed for Rangers but the have been few genuine opportunities to make the move.
Fans will remember Rangers wanting McLean from Aberdeen under Pedro Caixinha but no deal was done.
“I get asked that so much, honestly,” said McLean on Rangers. “No, not really. There’s always talk. But there’s never been anything in front of me saying ‘there you go,’ pulling on my heart strings. In the past there has been more than just paper talk.”
“It’s never materialised into anything. Would I love it one day? Of course. If you’re brought up and that’s who you support then of course I would. My family would be over the moon I’m sure,” he added.
This summer could have been the right moment but McLean was a mainstay of the Norwich side last season and captained the Canaries into the Championship playoffs.
McLean has now been asked about a move to Rangers yet again and has reiterated his commitment to Norwich, a year since Leeds United failed with a £4million bid.
Speaking to the Norwich Evening News, McLean has now noted that there isn’t much to speak about in terms of a move to Rangers.
The Scotland international – who featured at Euro 2024 this summer – feels that the speculation isn’t affecting him at all and he wants to stay at Norwich
McLean highlighted that Rangers rumours have appeared in the past but he has remained loyal to Norwich.
“I don’t think that I need to speak too much on it, to be honest, in terms of if it’s true or not. It isn’t affecting me at all,” said McLean. “I’m here, I want to be here and I’ll continue to be here. I’m looking forward to Oxford.”
“I’ve always had a good relationship with the fans and I’ll continue that for the next couple of years. I hope [the contract] does speak volumes. It was a pretty similar situation last year when there was talk and I committed my future to the football club. The football club also committed to me. I don’t see why that would change,” he added.
McLean turns 33 in January and time may be running out if he is to sign for Rangers.
Steven Davis returned to Rangers at 34, so we can’t say that the door has completely closed, but it may just be that Rangers and McLean are never quite ready to meet for a transfer.
It’s clear that McLean is in no hurry to leave Norwich and Rangers may well need to look elsewhere for experience this summer.
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