Everton defender Lewis Gibson is reportedly a target for Rangers who are free to negotiate with him from January onward.
The centre-back was part of the England team which won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, and joined the Toffees for a £1m fee from Newcastle United, with the price eventually rising to £6m with add-ons.
Gibson is out of contract next summer, and has not been offered a new deal at Goodison Park.
That has caught the attention of Rangers, according to The Athletic , with clubs free to negotiate with the 19-year-old from January onward.
Gibson is said to be more interested in playing time than a big contract, which could work in favour of the Ibrox club.
Different south of the border mean English clubs can only enter talks in the final months of Gibson's contract.
Rangers have already exploited the cross-border loophole to sign Joe Aribo on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic.
As with that transfer the Gers would have to pay a compensation fee for Gibson, but as it would a cross-border transfer it would be subject to FIFA 's training compensation regime.
That system sets a fixed compensation fee, unlike transfers between English clubs which are ruled on by the Professional Football Compensation Committee.
As a result Rangers were able to pay just £300,000 for Aribo, while Celtic only had to shell out £500,000 for Moussa Dembele.
