Rangers are reportedly desperate to bring former youth star Kenny McLean back to Ibrox – but Queens Park Rangers also want the Aberdeen talisman.
With club captain Ryan Jack on the verge of swapping Aberdeen for Rangers in one of the most acrimonious transfer deals in recent Scottish history, it will hardly help the bad blood between the Premiership rivals if Kenny McLean follows in his footsteps.
Yet, according to the Scottish Sun, Gers manager Pedro Caixinha has personally identified the 25-year-old midfielder as exactly the kind of player to take the Ibrox giants forward.
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
His dominant, dynamic performance in The Dons’ 2-1 triumph at Rangers earlier this month will surely have only reinforced Caixinha’s determination to bring the Scotland international to Glasgow.
However, it appears that Rangers will not be short of competition. According to The Express, Queens Park Rangers are preparing to offer £1 million for McLean with the midfielder out of contract in just 12 months’ time.
Yet, it’s difficult to make a case for McLean choosing Loftus Road over Ibrox. As it stands, it’s not as if QPR will be among the favourites to push for promotion to the Premier League next season after finishing just two points above the Championship relegation zone in 2016/17.
And though QPR are in need of a midfielder with McLean’s all-round skill-set, meaning he would surely play a major role in Ian Holloway’s side, would the four-goal talisman really be tempted by a club whose immediate ambition appears to be the comfort of mid-table?
Queens Park Rangers manager Ian Holloway
Although Rangers finished in a different postcode to Celtic last season, not to mention nine points adrift of McLean’s current club Aberdeen, it appears that Caixinha is attempting to build a new legacy at Ibrox.
Therefore, McLean could play a major part in an exciting, ambitious project to take one of Europe’s most historic clubs back to the top. Furthermore, it’s common knowledge that McLean was released by Rangers as a youngster.
A decade on, he may have the chance to finally make his mark in the famous blue.
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