Rangers learn outcome in battle for Harris Afzal as bid accepted and immediate move expected
Rangers appear to have lost out in the race to sign talented Queen’s Park youngster Harris Afzal.
That is according to Daily Record, who state that Southampton have had a bid for the 16-year-old defender accepted.
The attacking left-back has been involved in Sean Crighton’s first team in recent weeks, as Queen’s Park bid to stave off relegation from the Scottish Championship.
The report states that Afzal has been on the radar of Rangers and Celtic, among with several other “top English clubs”.
However, Championship team Southampton are hopeful of finalising a move for the starlet in the coming days, with the Saints in discussions with his entourage about a switch. Danny Rohl‘s Rangers will hope this isn’t one that got away.
A damning statement of affairs for the Old Firm?
Record add that Afzal, who has been of interest to the Ibrox outfit for a while now, was permitted to visit Southampton ahead of a trial last month.
After impressing in a game for the Hampshire outfit, Southampton want to “thrash out” an immediate transfer and integrate him into their academy.
If Afzal has chosen English second-tier side Southampton over Scottish giants Rangers and Celtic, that may be a damning indictment of the Old Firm teams.
While Rangers and Celtic have so much history and historically are a much bigger club than Southampton, the prize of the Premier League is so tempting to so many players.
The Scottish teams can offer the promise of European football, something that is extremely unlikely to happen at Southampton in the coming years.
And with Saints outside of the play-off spots in the Championship, they may not even be back in the English top-flight for the foreseeable future.
If this continues to happen, the Scottish Premiership heavyweights’ pulling power appears to be diminishing.
Danny Rohl’s Rangers face season-defining stretch
Aside from transfers, Rangers are hell-bent on lifting their first Scottish Premiership title since 2021.
The Gers sit second in the table, four points behind surprise leaders Hearts, with rivals Celtic two points further back.
Derek McInnes’ side are in a strong position ahead of this Sunday’s Old Firm derby but they are in unprecedented territory and there is no way of knowing if they will hold their nerve.
For Rangers, they face a must-win match against old adversaries Celtic on Sunday lunchtime in the league.
If they emerge victorious from that, they will bolster their league title chances and potentially put pay to Celtic’s.
A week later, they host the Bhoys again, this time in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. If they come out on top in both of these, that will be a potentially season-defining boost for Rohl’s team.
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