By Joe Ellis

10th Jun, 2022 | 10:19am

Rangers want to sign Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer

Rangers are in the hunt to sign Aston Villa’s Under-21 striker Cameron Archer this summer, according to talkSPORT correspondent Alex Crook.

The 20-year-old spent the second half of the 2021-22 season on loan at Championship club Preston North End where he scored seven goals in 20 appearances for Ryan Lowe’s side.

He had already scored his first senior hat-trick for the Villains in the Carabao Cup earlier in the campaign against Barrow but was unable to break into the fray at Villa Park.

Archer, who has one goal in two games for England Under-21s, is on Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s list of potential new strikers having had to play Joe Aribo as a false nine towards the end of last season.

The Light Blues are in competition with Championship duo Middlesbrough and Watford for his signature but it is still very early days in this particular saga.

Morelos replacement

The constant striker links all point to the possibility of Alfredo Morelos leaving the club this summer with only 12 months left on his contract.

This transfer window might be the last chance we get to cash in on the Colombian wonder and given how much he could sell for, we would be crazy not to shake on a half-decent deal should it turn up on our doorstep.

It would be a shame to lose that kind of shot conversion rate but that’s also why we are targeting the likes of Archer who have proved their worth elsewhere.

He was exceptional for the Lilywhites last season in just half a campaign and former Gers boss Steven Gerrard will have paid close attention to his output in front of goal.

Perhaps Ross Wilson can give the previous boss a nudge to get ahead of the Championship competition because if he can hit the same kind of goals to games ratio he did at Deepdale then he’ll be very successful in Scotland.

In other Rangers news, one of van Bronckhorst’s current first-team regulars has refused to rule out the possibility of leaving Ibrox this summer.