Rangers could see £1.5m transfer bid accepted

Glasgow Rangers can sometimes struggle in the transfer market because the Ibrox giants are a difficult and unique team to recruit players for.

The Light Blues are expected to be a winning machine, full of star players who can win trophies, but some players view signing for Scottish teams as a stepping stone to one of Europe’s major leagues.

Their city rivals have leaned into that sad reality, developing and selling players on a regular basis over the years, and the Gers have started to adapt to it, as they did with the signing of Hamza Igamane.

Instead of signing the finished article, Rangers have to take risks on players. They did that when they paid £8m to sign Youssef Chermiti from Everton after he failed to score a competitive goal in two years in England.

Given the platform to play regular football, the Portugal U21 international exploded with 15 Scottish Premiership goals, including two hat-tricks, in his first year at Ibrox.

Rangers told asking price for Premiership star

Chermiti, who scored a hat-trick against Falkirk on the final day of the season, is now being linked with Feyenoord and reportedly valued at £25m by the club, which shows that he has flourished in Glasgow.

Now, Derek McInnes’ recruitment team are looking at a player who could follow in Chermiti’s footsteps by exploring as a regular starter at Ibrox.

According to journalist Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, Glasgow Rangers are one of a number of clubs in the running to sign Dundee central defender Luke Graham in the summer transfer window.

The reporter claims that the Premiership club are prepared to allow the defender to leave if they receive an offer of £1.5m, which means that the Gers could see a bargain offer accepted for his services.

Nixon states, though, that Portsmouth are set for talks with the Scotland U21 international and that they will make an offer for him if they get the feeling that he would be open to signing for them.

The journalist reveals that Rangers, Lincoln City, Stoke City, and Derby County are among the other teams hoping to pip Pompey to his signature before the end of the window.

How Luke Graham can be the next Youssef Chermiti for Rangers

Chermiti is the perfect example to potential targets of what can happen if you sign for Rangers, as one season at Ibrox has flipped the narrative surrounding him.

The Portuguese striker looked like a huge flop after two seasons without a goal for Everton in the Premier League, yet the Gers were willing to take a risk on him and it paid off big time.

Chermiti is now valued at £25m, significantly more than the £8m that they paid for him, and is being linked with a move to a Dutch giant, 12 months after the Light Blues did not seem to have much competition for his signature.

Graham posted impressive statistics in the Premiership last season, dominating his duels against strikers on the deck and in the air, yet he has only attracted reported interest from the English Championship and Rangers.

Speaking in April, Dundee boss Steven Pressley suggested that the Scottish defender’s ambition is to end up at a Premier League team in the future, but his form for the Premiership side has not attracted attention from that calibre of club.

Playing for Rangers, however, could provide him with the platform to show off his quality on a bigger stage, under pressure at Ibrox in the Premiership and European competitions.

Several former Rangers players have ended up at Premier League teams in recent years, including Joe Aribo, Calvin Bassey, albeit via Ajax, and Nathan Patterson, which shows that stars can find their way to the English top-flight by performing at Ibrox.

Graham wants to play in the Premier League, per his manager, and a move to Ibrox has the potential to be a step on the road to getting there, rather than ending up at a team fighting relegation in the second tier in England.

He could explode as a talent in Glasgow, given his performances for Dundee last season, and the extra exposure as a Rangers player could see bigger clubs than Stoke and Portsmouth take a look at him.

Chermiti was able to take his reputation to the next level by playing week-in-week-out at Ibrox and delivering quality performances, particularly in the second half of the season, and Graham could follow his example.