Danilho Doekhi rejects Dinamo Zagreb as Rangers pursue deal to sign Vitesse defender
Vitesse defender Danilho Doekhi rejected a deadline day move to Dinamo Zagreb amid interest from Rangers, according to 24Sata.
The Croatian news outlet reported on their website on Monday (31 January) that Doekhi, 23, was set to quit Vitesse but he’s instead stayed put in the Netherlands.
The Rotterdam-born centre-back’s contract expires in the summer, meaning the Light Blues can make an approach to sign him on a pre-contract deal ahead of him becoming a free agent.
Will it happen?
It feels as though Doekhi has been linked with a move to Ibrox for an absolute age but with his contract expiring in the summer, we feel there’s a good chance it may actually happen.
If he’s snubbed Dinamo Zagreb and hasn’t signed a new deal with Vitesse, it may mean that Rangers are in pole position to sign the Dutch centre-back on a free transfer ahead of next season.
And we absolutely need defensive reinforcements too.
John Souttar will join from Hearts in the summer, which is great news. But we’ll probably need one or two more centre-backs too based on the current situation at Ibrox.
Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun will both be out of contract in the summer while Nikola Katic may not be in the mix to play once his loan deal in Croatia is up.
Jack Simpson isn’t in the picture at Ibrox either, meaning that Filip Helander is the only natural senior centre-back at the club who may be staying put for next season.
Helander has been missed a lot this season while he’s been out injured so we’ll need Souttar, Doekhi and perhaps someone else in to bolster the back-line.
In other Rangers news, a BBC Sportscene pundit clashed with a Celtic fan on live radio over the signing of Aaron Ramsey.