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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

Rangers transfer state of play on Skov Olsen, Simons, Clark and Johnstone

The winter break has flown in and Rangers are just a week away from resuming their league campaign.

Gio van Bronckhorst will be keen to add to his squad as they resume their Premiership title defence against Aberdeen.

James Sands is already in the door and a new goalkeeper appears to be high on the agenda.

Both Allan McGregor and Jon McLaughlin are out of contract in the summer leaving the Dutchman with a decision to make.

Things are running smoothly for the new boss so it will be a case of tweaks rather than a rebuild, but his short stint has shown he is also keen on wide men.

There are plenty of names in the frame and Record Sport have run the rule over the state of play.

Andreas Skov Olsen

The Bologna wide man has been in and out of the team this season and it is widely believed they are open to offers for the 22-year-old, who has 15 Denmark caps to his name.

(Getty Images)

Reports had suggested Rangers are in the running for his signature, but Record Sport understands those links are tenuous.

If they do spark an interest in the Dane, they are set to face rival bids.

Several reports in Denmark claim that FC Copenhagen are eyeing up a loan deal, while AS state Sevilla are weighing up a permanent bid this month.

Zander Clark

While Benjamin Siegrist is the latest stopper to be linked with Rangers, St Johnstone goalkeeper Zander Clark has been in the frame for a while.

The stopper is out of contract in the summer and interest is high in the Scotland call-up with Aberdeen and Dundee United also keeping tabs on the situation.

(SNS Group)

Perth Saints boss Callum Davidson admits his number one will be leaving, but reckons he will test himself south of the border.

He said: “I’ve resigned myself to the fact Zander probably won’t be staying.

"Zander has been the standout player for us this season and we expect him to keep performing like that. I have no worries about him at all.

"Over the last few seasons he’s got better every year. So if he goes to England to try his luck, everyone here would be happy for him.”

Sam Johnstone

Also between the sticks, West Brom's Sam Johnstone has been surprisingly linked with a move north of the border.

Birmingham Live credit the Premiership champions with an interest in the England keeper as they prepare for the possibility of McGregor and McLaughlin leaving in the summer.

With Johnstone out of contract in the summer, Baggies' manager Valerien Ismael insists there are no plans to sell this month.

He said: “At the minute I am pretty sure that he will stay but you never know what can happen in football. If a keeper gets a big injury and a club needs to replace him you never know what the situation could be, but at the moment it’s not the plan for Sam to leave us.

Xavi Simons

Former Rangers midfielder Ronald de Boer has urged the Paris-Saint Germain kid to leave the Ligue 1 giants.

(Icon Sport via Getty Images)

The 18-year-old Dutchman's future remains up in the air with the Scottish champions among the clubs credited with an interest in the wonderkid.

With Simons in the final six months of his contract he made his first Ligue 1 appearance off the bench against Lyon on Sunday.

But de Boer told Rondo he should leave the club: "He won't make it in Paris.

"He could do with a Dutch club Ajax, PSV or Feyenoord - those are the top three, otherwise I think there are other clubs that would like to have him. "

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