Report: Rangers wanted Stevie May in January; striker admits links with move away gave him boost

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Glasgow Rangers wanted to bring Preston North End striker Stevie May to Ibrox during the January transfer window.

Stevie May, during his time with St Johnstone, was a target for Rangers in January

Stevie May has admitted that links with a return to Scotland during the January transfer window gave him a major confidence boost as The Scottish Sun confirms that Rangers were one of the sides keen on completing a deal.

May arrived in England in 2014 having established himself as one of the most in-form strikers in Scotland following a loan spell with Hamilton and his final campaign with St Johnstone, with the 24-year-old scoring 45 goals in 71 league games.

May enjoyed a decent spell with Sheffield Wednesday before joining Preston North End

However, his time with Sheffield Wednesday was fairly unspectacular, and his spell with Preston North End has been plagued by an injury that kept him out of the side from November 2015 until February of this year.

Perhaps surprisingly therefore, there were a cluster of sides interested in signing him just before he made his return to Simon Grayson’s side, with The Scottish Sun suggesting that Rangers were hoping to rival the likes of Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibernian and former club St Johnstone.

And while May insists that he was pleased to stay at Deepdale, he admitted that the interest really helped him during his recovery.

“There were a few Scottish clubs who enquired about me in January,” he told The Scottish Sun.

“That gave me a real boost, it was nice to know that teams wanted me even though I’d been out injured.

“It didn’t come to anything and I was happy to stay at Preston, but knowing people were interested gave me a real boost.”

Preston manager Simon Grayson would have been glad that May stayed put given his most recent goal for the Lilywhites

Although May has scored just one goal since his return from injury, it is surely not out of the question to suggest that it is highly likely that level of interest in him could remain given the quality of the goal.

The forward scored a stunning long-range equaliser against Rotherham, proving exactly why Preston were keen to keep him beyond January, but also proving why the likes of Rangers were keen on making a move despite his agonisingly long spell on the sidelines.