Rangers want to sign Merseyside-born PL player on cut-price deal – report
Rangers want to sign John Lundstram on a “cut-price deal” from Sheffield United with his contract set to expires next year, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper claims that West Ham are also interested in signing the 26-year-old midfielder, who’s started all six of the Blades’ Premier League fixtures this season.
Although Lundstram is a key player for Chris Wilder in Yorkshire, the Sheffield United manager confirmed on Thursday that the ex-Everton player has rejected a new contract.
“It’s been very frustrating. We’ve offered him a very attractive contract. Him and his agent have made a decision that he doesn’t want to sign it,” said Wilder, as quoted by Sheffield United’s official Twitter account.
“I want John to stop here. We’ve been in discussions for quite a number of months. I’ve got to respect John’s decision. He’s still a Sheff United player & he’s still available for selection.”
Rangers were linked with Lundstram in the summer transfer window but it seems that Steven Gerrard will continue to pursue the Merseyside-born midfielder into the New Year as he aims to add another new face to his midfield.
Lundstram played a vital role in Sheffield United’s impressive season in the Premier League last term but lost his spot in the side in January when Wilder signed Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge.
Before January, Lundstram started 19 of 20 Premier League matches but started just seven of the remaining 18.
As mentioned, he has restored his spot in Wilder’s starting line-up but could that have been just to try and convince the player to sign the new contract?
It will be interesting to see whether the 26-year-old is axed by Wilder for upcoming fixtures now that it’s all but confirmed he’ll be exiting Bramall Lane next year in either January or the summer.
Rangers will be able to make an approach to sign Lundstram on a pre-contract basis, which could put them ahead of West Ham in the race to sign the Blades man.
It seems like a very do-able deal for the Scottish Premiership leaders.
In other Rangers news, Gerrard has been sharing his thoughts on Ianis Hagi.