Rangers boss Michael Beale is now preparing a third offer for the transfer of Swansea City star Morgan Whittaker. The forward is also desperate to secure a move to Ibrox in January.
That is according to the Daily Record, which reports Swansea have rejected a £1.5m bid by Rangers for Whittaker’s transfer. The fee was inclusive of potential add-ons but it failed to tempt the Championship outfit to sell. Now, Beale is in a race against time to clinch a deal.
The Gers will have to scrap plans to sign the 22-year-old should Whittaker feature with the Jacks at Queen’s Park Rangers on Saturday. Swansea boss Russell Martin intends to name the Derby-born dynamo in his side in north-west London. Doing so will deny Beale a move.
Whittaker has already featured for Plymouth Argyle this term after spending the first half of the season out on loan. Should he now turn out for Swansea against QPR, then Rangers will not be eligible to register the former England Under-20 international during January.
Swansea rejecting Rangers’ second offer for Whittaker’s transfer worth £1.5m in all did not discourage Beale to make another offer. He intends to return to the negotiating table with a third proposal on Friday. While Whittaker is also keen to accept his chance to go to Ibrox.
Rangers are moving closer to Swansea’s asking price for Whittaker’s transfer
Rangers have steadily increased their offer for Whittaker’s transfer to convince Swansea to sell the former Derby County prospect. But the Jacks continue to oppose his departure and Martin hopes to convince the right-winger to stay in south Wales over a move to Glasgow.
Beale initially hoped to secure Whittaker’s arrival at Ibrox for £900k. But he saw the bid fall flat as Swansea want at least £2m, per The Scottish Sun. Rangers are also not alone in their interest in his transfer in January. So, the Championship club are under no pressure to sell.
Yet given Beale’s insistence on Whittaker’s transfer, Rangers could now bridge their gap in valuations to finalise terms with Swansea. A deal would give the Gers boss a player who hit nine goals and assisted a further seven over 25 League One outings for Plymouth this term.
Whittaker also hit five goals and one assist over 20 League One matches on loan to Lincoln City last season. Martin sent the forward to the LNER Stadium in January 2022 having kept the attacker to a bit-part role with the Jacks, despite him impressing in the Carabao Cup.
“He’s playing in a role that’s a bit different for him,” Martin told the Swansea website after Whittaker scored an EFL Cup hat-trick against Plymouth in August 2021. “But I thought he was fantastic. He’s got a lot to really work on but he has a lot to work with.”
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