Rangers held transfer talks for “brilliant” player who will be out of contract in nine months.

Rangers are said to have held talks with a “brilliant” £3m player over a move to Ibrox, according to a new update.

Pressure on Rangers after derby defeat

The Gers had an exciting summer window overall, signing many players to make Philippe Clement‘s squad stronger, with the likes of Jefte, Connor Barron, Mohamed Diomande and Robin Propper all coming in, as well as a number of other new faces.

While there was plenty of positivity going into the new Scottish Premiership season, Rangers have suffered a reality check of late, not least when they faced Celtic on Sunday afternoon. Clement’s men were soundly beaten 3-0 away to their biggest rivals, once again highlighting the gap in quality between the two sides.

The loss means that the Gers are already five points behind the Hoops after only four matches, which is a big concern, and significant improvements will need to be made after the international break as the new signings continue to adjust to playing alongside one another.

It looks as though Rangers’ transfer business is done for this year – some countries’ transfer windows are still open, so a low profile exit or two can’t be completely ruled out – but a new update has now dropped regarding a potential move for one player before on day last week.

Rangers held talks to sign “brilliant” ace

According to a new report from HITC, Rangers held talks with Hearts over the signing of star man Lawrence Shankland last Friday, but their asking price proved to be too high. The Gers were willing to pay £3m for the 29-year-old’s services, but his current club demanded more than that, wanting to get as much as possible for their most prized asset.

He will be out of contract in just nine months’ time, perhaps why the Gers opted to walk away and save their bank balance, considering they may be able to lure him to Ibrox for free at that point.

While Clement has missed out on Shankland for the time being, there should still be hope that Rangers can get their man in the relatively near future. Assuming he fails to sign an extension at Tynecastle, his boyhood connection to Ibrox will put them front of the queue.

The Scotland international could be a fantastic signing, even though he would be turning 30 by that point, with Neil McCann heaping praise on him: “Superlatives are becoming harder to come by when talking about Lawrence.

“His goal last week was his 30th for the season including his Scotland goal but it wasn’t the cleanest strike, tonight was just a typically brilliant goal from Lawrence Shankland. It shows you what type of striker he is, he’s so instinctive, he scores right, left, headers, instinctive goal-scorers’ goals, brilliant goals – there’s so much to speak about that is good about Lawrence Shankland.”

The fact that Shankland is a boyhood club Rangers supporter can only be an added bonus in the Gers’ quest to snap him up, and he could be such a potent addition to the attack after topping the Scottish Premiership scoring charts with 24 goals last season – six more than anyone else.

Brendan Rodgers reacts to Celtic display vs Hibs as pre-match instruction deliver

Celtic defeated Hibernian 3-1 at home on Sunday to extend their winning run at the beginning of the 2024–25 campaign.

As today’s centre forward, Daizen Maeda was brought in to replace the injured Kyogo Furuhashi, and he did not let anyone down with a first-half double that sent the Bhoys into the League Cup.

Shortly after the half, winger Nicolas Kuhn joined in to make sure there was no drama in the last moments.

Being a Celtics fan right now is a lot of fun. A sizable contingent showed up to support the team today, and they were pleased with what they saw

Naturally delighted, manager Brendan Rodgers shared his thoughts with BBC Radio Scotland after the game.

Commenting on Celtic’s victory over Hibs, Brendan Rodgers
The Bhoys’ manager remarked, “I felt we were very good.” We showed our hunger right away, which I thought made us great from the beginning of the game. We had stated prior to the game that our counter-pressing would be our playmaker, and it was. So many second and third balls were going to us.

The only true threat to us came from throw-ins. Guys that can toss it in, apply a little pressure, and get you to tense up are stationed on either side of the pitch. We handled that quite nicely. We did not reveal too much. Their header was excellent.

“The entire pace, velocity, and quality of the attacking phases of the game was outstanding.”

For the next two weeks, St Mirren and Rangers are now the teams to watch. Although it will undoubtedly be a trying and demanding time, every Celtics supporter is rooting for the squad to pass those trials with flying colours.

There is still more work to be done both on and off the pitch to satisfy fans, as the transfer window is drawing to a close.

In addition, there’s the minor issue of the Champions League draw on August 29 to anticipate.