Nils Koppen suffers Rangers transfer blow as Fabrizio Romano shares late-night update on Wednesday
Nils Koppen has suffered a transfer blow after an update has emerged on Benfica defender David Jurasek amid links to Rangers in the January transfer window.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano tweeted on Wednesday (17 January) that Hoffenheim are closing in on a deal to sign the Czech Republic international, with talks “advancing fast” over a loan deal.
He added that the transfer will include an option-to-buy clause for the 23-year-old left-back, striking a blow to the Gers’ transfer plans this month.
Jurasek had been identified by Koppen, the Light Blues’ new director of football recruitment, as a potential target to come in and provide another option on the left-hand side of the defence.
That is an area of slight concern at this moment in time, with Ridvan Yilmaz looking set to leave Ibrox if the club can find an adequate replacement for him this month.
There is also doubts surrounding the future of Borna Barisic as his contract is due to expire at the end of the season and he’s also been the subject of interest.
There is absolutely no way that Philippe Clement can afford to sanction the departures of both defenders as that would leave them with no senior option at left-back.
While he appears to be open to allowing Yilmaz to move on, that will only happen if he can get a player through the door who he believes can strengthen his current squad heading into the second half of the season.
That could have been Jurasek after the door was opened up for him to leave Benfica this month, having failed to nail down a regular first-team spot since signing from Slavia Prague over the summer.
The left-back was a creative force during his time with the Czech club after registering 14 assists in 55 appearances before making the £12million move to the Portuguese capital.
But he now looks set to make the switch to Germany to join Hoffenheim following the latest update from Romano, with a loan move seemingly on the cards.
That means Koppen is going to have to have a rethink as he looks to present a suitable option to Clement to improve his options at left-back and potentially allow Yilmaz to leave.
The Gers will likely want to see the situation resolved before the rush at the end of January as they won’t want there to be any uncertainty around first-team players heading into the final hours of the window.
In other Rangers news, a player the Gers want to sign has been offered a “lucrative” contract.
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