Report: Leeds & Celtic target now close to joining Rangers

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According to SPORT1, Rabbi Matondo is now close to joining Rangers, despite interest from Leeds and Celtic.

What’s the story?

Well, it was said that Jesse Marsch is keen to bring the Wales international to the Premier League.

Elsewhere, it was claimed that Celtic had entered talks with Schalke 04 over a deal for Matondo.

Now, however, Ange Postecoglou looks set to lose out to Giovanni van Bronckhorst, with the 21-year-old heading for Ibrox.

SPORT1 believe a €3m (£2.5m) deal has been agreed between Rangers and Schalke 04, and personal terms are now set to be discussed between the forward and the Bears.

The German news outlet add that they expect the move to go through, and there is something of a rush to complete the deal with Schalke 04 set to depart for their pre-season preparations in Mittersill on July 11th.

Unfortunately for them, the German side are set to make a significant loss on Matondo, who they paid £11m for when signing him from Manchester City in 2019.

Interest in the Liverpool-born attacker comes after he scored ten goals in 27 appearances last season while on loan at Cercle Brugge.

Rangers beat Leeds & Celtic to dangerous weapon

In our view, Matondo will be a dream for Van Bronckhorst next season.

Why? Well, we’re expecting the winger to be a major outlet for Rangers next season, especially in games where they may find their backs against the wall.

Pep Guardiola has described Matondo as a “rapid” player – something of an understatement, in our eyes.

The Welshman finds himself among the top ten quickest Bundesliga players of all time with a top speed of 22.37 mph, while he even beat the likes of Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling during testing at Manchester City.

As quoted by the Evening Standard, Matondo said: “We did fitness tests and obviously we had to do 20-metre sprints and other things as well. It turned out my time was the fastest in the academy, and it later came out that it was the fastest in the whole club.”

Therefore, if Van Bronckhorst can find a way to utilise this pace, and isolate Matondo against defenders in a one-on-one situation, he could have a very successful time in Glasgow.