Rangers and Newcastle miss out as club makes 23-year-old target captain

Photo by Erwin Spek/Soccrates/Getty Images

Danilho Doekhi has been named captain of Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem after a move to Rangers or Newcastle United failed to materialise, as reported by Voetbal International.

Johannes Spors has got his wish, it seems.

Speaking three weeks ago, Vitesse’s technical director insisted he was desperate to retain the services of the highly rated Doekhi, before admitting the Eredivisie outfit wouldn’t stand in his way should an acceptable offer arrive before the end of the transfer window.

“We have to be realistic,” Spors told VI. “If a nice club can and wants to meet his asking price, then it could be interesting. We don’t want Doekhi to go – but we also understand (he could).”

At the time, Britain looked the most obvious destination for the 6ft 3in Doekhi.

De Gelderlander reported Rangers wanted the talented centre-back and would have offered him a three-year deal at Ibrox.

Doekhi also had admirers at Fulham and Premier League outfit Newcastle United.

But, after being handed the captain’s armband at the GelreDome, it would be a major surprise if Doekhi isn’t still wearing yellow and black on 1 September.

The Netherlands U21 international has inherited the armband from Remko Pasveer, the veteran goalkeeper who joined reigning Eredivisie champions Ajax on a free transfer in July.

Have Rangers and Newcastle now missed out on Danilho Doekhi?

Rangers have been linked with a host of central defenders this summer – the most recent being Steven Gerrard’s former England teammate Gary Cahill.

It’s not as though the Glasgow giants are short of defensive options, however, with Leon Balogun, Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic and Jack Simpson all competing for a place in the Ibrox XI.

Then again, after George Edmundson was sold to Ipswich Town last week, Rangers may still look to bring in one new face during the next three weeks or so.

They need all the depth they can get, with European and domestic excursions set to stretch Gerrard’s squad to its limits.

Newcastle, meanwhile, haven’t spent a single penny on transfers since the end of May and recently missed out on former Celtic star Kristoffer Ajer to top-flight newcomers Brentford.