According to the Daily Record, Rangers are set to secure the signing of Blackpool striker Tony Weston – with Steven Gerrard a key factor.
It’s claimed that Rangers director of football Ross Wilson is ‘determined’ to get Weston signed, given that Leeds, Everton and Southampton are also interested.
Weston was born in Liverpool though, and the presence of Gerrard at Ibrox looks to have tipped the balance in Rangers’ favour ahead of the summer window.
Weston, 16, can’t sign a professional deal with Blackpool until September, and it seems that Rangers are moving to make sure he is at Ibrox before his 17th birthday.
The teenage striker hit 14 goals for Blackpool’s youth team in the early stages of the season. That prompted Simon Grayson to promote Weston to first-team duty, even taking him out of school for that step up.
His professional debut came on December 1st, and Grayson put him into first-team contention at the expense of Ryan Hardie – ironically, a player Rangers let go last summer.
With major interest in England, Weston could be a real coup for Rangers. Adding him and fellow potential signing James Graham to Dapo Mebude and Nathan Young-Coombes would give Rangers a number of exciting attackers for the future.
It’s unclear how much Rangers would be paying for Weston, but with Southampton allegedly willing to pay £250,000 earlier this season, it could be a similar fee.
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