Rangers manager Mark Warburton brought Jordan Rossiter and Joe Dodoo to Ibrox last summer.
The Premier League’s £5.1 billion TV deal has made life even tougher for Scottish clubs in the transfer market.
However, there is one way in which the likes of Glasgow Rangers have been able to compete in recent windows, and their alleged interest in Aston Villa’s Rushian Hepburn-Murphy suggests they plan to continue down this route.
Whereas English clubs can expect to pay top dollar to land the top domestic prospects, even if they are out of contract, thanks to UEFA rules those north of the border can snap them up for relative peanuts.
Rangers previously acquired Jordan Rossiter (Liverpool) and Joe Dodoo (Leicester) in this manner, so could there be more where they came from at Ibrox next summer?
Here are three under-24 talents that the Gers could snare for next-to-nothing:
Tosin Adarabioyo
The towering England Under-19 centre-back is reportedly being courted by Tottenham, Everton and Celtic, but Rangers could perhaps offer him the best shot at regular football if he opts to leave Manchester City. Adarabioyo looked promising in pre-season, but has played 30 minutes since then.
The Murphy Twins
Norwich wingers Jacob and Josh Murphy have impressed in this season’s Championship, scoring six goals and assisting another four between them. They have not yet signed up for next year, however, and a move to ibrox may appeal if Norwich fail to go up – or if a Premier League club is unable to offer the minutes they require. (Okay, so I am aware there are now four players on this list).
Dominic Solanke
The Chelsea striker is still waiting for his second Blues appearance, having returned from a year at Vitesse Arnhem in the summer. The 19-year-old, who has three caps for England’s Under-21s and trained with the seniors after being crowned Men’s Youth Player of the Year in 2014, is yet to commit to a new contract and reportedly requested £50,000-a-week last season. Such demands would perhaps put him out of Rangers’ reach, but the Scottish giants could offer regular first-team football as a compromise.
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