George Overhill

Tue 10 January 2023 13:21, UK

The battle to sign Jeonbuk Hyudai Motors’ forwad Cho Gue-sung is heating up with the Rangers target in the sights of four other clubs, Sky Sports reports.

The Light Blues are already trailing Celtic, with the Hoops having already made a £3million offer for the South Korean international, while as yet there is no formal bid from Ibrox.

But German side Mainz have also made an offer “similar” to the one from the green and white side of Glasgow, and Hungarian club Ferencveros are also interested in the 24-year-old.

However, ominously for all four European sides the Sky Sports update (10 January) also relays reports from Korea that suggest Minnesota United in MLS is readying their own bid that is bigger than any of the current offers on the table.

Football Scotland had previously reported on 9 January that the World Cup goalscorer was likely to move to Europe this month and that Rangers were “keen”, but the latest update only classes them as “aware” of Cho, while the looming threat of big money from America has the potential to change the landscape.

Difficult

It was going to be hard enough to catch up with Celtic since Ange Postecoglou’s side were much further along in the process of getting a deal done.

But with interested parties proliferating by the day it looks like this could be a real struggle for the Bears to get done this month if they are that serious about Cho.

If Rangers haven’t made an official move to enter the bidding process it may be a sign that they considering it too crowded and would rather focus their attentions elsewhere, but there remains the possibility that they are keeping their cards close to their chest.

How big the potential Minnesota bid might be is yet to become clear, but from an Ibrox point of view, if Cho isn’t the man that Michael Beale really wants the club to push for it could be a blessing in disguise that the MLS side are getting involved.

Were they to gazump Celtic it would at least keep him away from Parkhead, and potentially lining up on the opposing side in future Old Firm derbies.

When Beale was appointed the club made it clear they were prepared to back him January, and despite apparent interest in a number of directions the supporters are still yet to see much action with almost a third of the window gone.

The manager has done strong work with the squad he has inherited from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and if he is to keep any pressure on Celtic he will need reinforcements pretty soon.

In other Rangers news, a bid has been rejected as the Gers chase another target who appears to be headed straight towards the exit door, according to Sky Sports.