Middlesbrough wanted Josh Windass before he signed for Rangers – and with Hull City making their interest known, Boro could come back with a bid.
Rangers’ Josh Windass
If Josh Windass does indeed put pen to paper at Hull City this summer, it’s fair to say he will have a lot to live up to.
After all, it was his father, a bleached-blonde, 39-year-old Dean, who fired The Tigers into the top flight for the first time with a spectacular volley against Bristol City in the 2008 play-off final.
And it appears that 23-year-old Josh will be given the chance to follow in his dad’s footsteps this summer. The Sun claim that Hull are willing to pay Rangers £500,000 for Windass Jr.
Hull City legend Dean Windass celebrates one of the great Wembley moments
Though don’t mistake this for mindless nepotism. Dean may be an ambassador at Hull but midfielder Josh is a talented footballer in need of a fresh start after a disappointing debut campaign at Ibrox.
Despite featuring quite regularly after Pedro Caixinha replaced Mark Warburton in March, the former Accrington Stanley midfielder made just 14 Scottish Premiership starts in 2016/17 and the arrival of Mexican international Carlos Pena has pushed him further down the pecking order.
Therefore, new Hull boss Leonid Slutsky has a good chance of securing his first summer signing sooner rather than later.
Boro boy?
However, with Middlesbrough heavily linked 12 months ago, you wonder whether The Tigers won’t have it all their own way this summer.
Like Hull, Boro were relegated from the Premier League last season and are expected to embark on a few changes to the playing staff in order to secure an immediate return to the top flight.
And with the Daily Mail claiming that Lazio will offer impressive Dutch enforcer Maarten de Roon the chance to return to Serie A for £9 million, a year after he arrived from Atalanta, a new central midfielder may be a must.
Maarten de Roon cost Boro £12m last summer
Therefore, Windass may not be short of options if, or when, he is ready to bid farewell to Rangers.
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