Rangers transfer news: John Lundstram prepares to leave Ibrox amid determined bid to sign him
Trabzonspor are “determined” to sign John Lundstram now that he is preparing to leave Rangers, according to Sabah.
Yunus Emre Sel reported via the Turkish outlet’s website on 19 April that the 30-year-old had been subject of an approach by the Super Lig side earlier this season but they stepped back once the Gers made their own attempt to secure a contract extension.
However, now the former Sheffield United midfielder has failed to reach an agreement at Ibrox the Turkish club has stepped back in, believing that Lundstram’s “tough and dynamic” football will add to the strength of their team.
A new Rangers deal had looked a foregone conclusion just weeks ago after Philippe Clement publicly declared his certainty that it would happen, but with nothing having materialised in the weeks since it now appears his career in Glasgow is coming to an end.
Philippe Clement to see Rangers regular depart?
On the surface this would be quite a turnaround for a player who was seemingly central to the revival at Rangers under Clement to depart.
But the Englishman’s alarming drop off in form over recent weeks has seen the logic of signing him to a new deal increasingly called into question, and if the reason for a lack of agreement is wage demands that the club aren’t willing to meet then that reticence is becoming more understandable.
On top form the midfielder who fans used to sing was the “best on earth” would admittedly cost a lot of money to replace, but at his worst, which he has arguably reverted to in recent matches, it wouldn’t make sense to commit a lot of money to him either.
Lundstram is symptomatic of a squad that can compete with anyone on its day but can also shrink at the worst times to infuriate supporters.
He has just been voted into the PFA Scotland team of the season (20 April) and yet right now plenty would be happy to see him left out of Clement’s XI, demonstrating the bizarre balancing act that the Belgian is currently having to negotiate.
And how the manager will react if a player he made the rare choice of publicly declaring would stay in fact leaves will be instructive of the relationship with the club moving forward.
If Rangers couldn’t work out a deal with Lundstram when he had already declared he he would “love” to stay [Rangers Review, 3 January] then the chances of doing so once those talks have failed to succeed and a new side is determined to sign him are presumably that much smaller.
In other Rangers news, a Sky Sports pundit is outraged at one Ibrox ace who is “earning a fortune”.
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