Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has confirmed long-standing Rangers target Kenny McLean will leave Pittodrie at the end of the season.
After the bitter disappointment of losing to Motherwell in the Scottish League Cup semi-final on Saturday, thanks to two goals from long-standing target Louis Moult no less, Rangers were handed a welcome transfer boost on Tuesday.
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes confirmed that star midfielder Kenny McLean is leaving Pittodrie at the end of the season when his contract expires. And this is great news for a Rangers side who have admired the 25-year-old for some time, as reported by the Scottish Sun.
“Kenny has indicated he’s leaving at the end of the season and I’m grateful he’s been upfront,” McInnes said. “Kenny’s been hugely influential and will continue to be a key player for the rest of the campaign. He’s loving his time here.”
This comes just days after the Daily Record stated that Rangers would renew their interest in McLean in January after seeing a bid of just £300,000 rejected during the summer transfer window.
The one-time Scotland international, who was released by Rangers youth academy before joining St Mirren in 2009, will now be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with the Ibrox giants in January – where he could link up with his former midfield partner at Aberdeen, Ryan Jack.
And although there’s still more than two months to go until the end of 2017, Rangers could already be in pole position to land the most impressive bargain signing of the next year.
McLean was arguably the best midfielder in Scotland outside of Celtic last season and would represent an excellent signing for a Rangers side desperate to close the gap on the perennial top two.
The Ibrox giants spent more money in the summer than in any previous window after their demotion to the fourth tier back in 2012. They also made Carlos Pena, the £2.5 million signing from Chivas, their most expensive signing since Nikola Jelavic seven years ago, per the Daily Record.
Caixinha, however, was understood to be the driving force behind Rangers’ interest in McLean. And even though the Portuguese was dismissed on Wednesday after just seven months in charge, his raft of underperforming signings perhaps a major factor in his exit, signing the 25-year-old would surely have gone down as a rare good decision in his short-lived spell at Ibrox.
Whoever replaces Caixinha at the helm should continue his plans to bring McLean back to Glasgow.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
