Rangers hold talks to sign English sensation from Middlesbrough ahead of Celtic and Newcastle United

Rangers have held talks about the signing of Middlesbrough sensation Ajay Matthews this summer, according to The Secret Scout.

Writing on their official X account (24 June), the reliable news outlet report that the 18-year-old is set to leave the Riverside Stadium and has held talks with a number of clubs including Celtic and Newcastle.

Premier League clubs Southampton, Brighton and Brentford are also said to had discussions with the striker, who scored 17 goals in 18 starts for the Teeside youth team in the 2023/24 season and all clubs are "hopeful" of signing him.

Rangers want to sign Ajay Matthews from Middlesbrough

It's never an easy deal to do when several Premier League clubs are also interested, but Rangers have a good record of getting deals done.

The likes of Zak Lovelace have joined in the past from English clubs, and the youth project at Ibrox has always been impressive with the likes of Adam Devine, Alex Lowry, Leon King and Ross McCausland making the step up to the first-team in recent times.

Now the club are making their first-team incomings more linked towards young players with a potential future value too, and that means that academy talents are likely to have a pathway to make it into Philippe Clement's plans too if they are successful.

Being able to beat the likes of Celtic and Newcastle to a young talent who is clearly highly in-demand would be a huge coup for the Light Blues.

It would also show that losing Zeb Jacobs this summer [1908, 25 April] isn't the huge blow that many people felt it could be, and as they look for replacements they can still get the top talents in through the door.

In other Rangers news, David Edgar has shared what he's heard about summer signing No.5 at Ibrox this summer.

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