Rangers winger Barrie McKay is reportedly wanted by Nottingham Forest.
Celtic’s Jozo Simunovic in action with Rangers’ Barrie McKay
According to the Daily Mail, Nottingham Forest boss Mark Warburton wants to reunite with Rangers star Barrie McKay if his contract talks continue to stall.
McKay, 22, joined Rangers from Kilmarnock back in 2011, but he was struggling to make an impact at Ibrox, before being farmed out on loan to Greenock Morton and Raith Rovers.
The winger’s fortunes changed when Warburton became Rangers manager in 2015 though, and he hit nine goals in 48 games last season to play a starring role in the club’s promotion and run to the Scottish Cup final.
McKay’s form this season has been a little more patchy, notching six goals in 44 games – but the current issue for Rangers is that McKay’s contract expires in 2018.
Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton
With no new deal seeming imminent, and manager Pedro Caixinha telling the Daily Record that a decision was expected this month, there is the possibility that he could be sold this summer, or leave the club in January 2018 either on a pre-contract agreement or in a cut-price deal.
Now, the Daily Mail claim that Warburton – now managing Nottingham Forest – wants to reunite with McKay at the City Ground, but the move would be with a view to 2018 rather than this summer.
Rangers’ Barrie McKay (R) in action with Livingston’s Jackson Longridge
Should McKay’s contract saga drag on, it’s claimed that Warburton would pursue a cut-price January 2018 deal for McKay, hoping to land him on the cheap months before he can walk away from Ibrox.
However, with relations between Warburton and Rangers chairman Dave King strained to say the least, managing to strike a deal with his former employers could be difficult for the Forest boss – even with McKay’s increasingly concerning contract situation.
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