Rangers are hoping to bolster their defensive options this month – but one reported target that Philippe Clement is set to miss out on his Scotland defender Grant Hanley.
The 33-year-old has been told he has not future at Norwich City under Johannes Hoff Thorup, despite racking up nearly 200 appearances for the Canaries since his arrival in 2017. Earlier this month, Hanley was touted as a surprise potential options to help fill the void left by the injured John Souttar.
But Pink Un now report that Hanley – who has won 59 caps for Scotland and represented them at two European Championships – is closing in on a move to Birmingham City in England’s third tier. They add that Hanley has travelled to the West Midlands to complete a medical ahead of a free transfer that would bring his seven and a half-year spell with the Norfolk club to an end.
Hanley’s international teammate Ryan Porteous is also said to be of interest to the Gers. Watford centre back Porteous has been a regular for the Hornets this season but with his team currently five points adrift of the play-off spots, boss Tom Cleverley insists his focus is on strengthened his squad across the board this month rather than let key stars leave.
He said: “I don’t want to disrespect the players we have in the building, because although we’re all focussed on what they can’t do due to the bad form, they’ve done a lot right this season to get us seven places higher than we finished the last one.
“But like you said, the last few games have shown that we do need to improve the squad if we want to mix it with Middlesbrough, West Brom, Blackburn. it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that.”
Funds will be tight for Clement this month and the former Monaco and Genk boss may have to move players on before he can bring in any new faces at Ibrox. Last summer, Record Sport revealed Rangers’ interest in Plymouth attacker Morgan Whittaker, who netted 20 goals in 50 matches for the Pilgrims last season. It remains to be seen if the Gers will renew their attempts to try and land the ex England youth international, but new Plymouth manager Miron Muslic has not ruled out the possibility of the 24-year-old leaving Home Park in the winter window.
He said: “It’s not about how much I want to keep him for the club it’s also what’s the best for Morgan. I think he’s a fantastic football player.
“He’s a player who can have one individual moment and decide the game for us. That’s quality. Normally those guys cost a lot of money. I think the Brentford goal, that’s what you get with Morgan. He can finish the game for you or kill the opponent. That makes him super interesting for a lot of other clubs.”
“I like players who have ambitions and we will see then what’s the best for Morgan and what’s the best for us. Right now I consider him fully, fully as an Argyle player.
“Everything I saw so far over the last three, four or five days, very professional. Not one talk between us was about moving or transfer, it was about ambition, achieving goals, what we can achieve right now.
“I have a very good first impression of Morgan. I know it’s busy for him because I think in the background something is going on but that’s normal if you have this quality and you are that kind of profile. It’s just normal, but he’s very professional and he can deal with that.”
Burnley have been linked with a £10m move for Whittaker, but Turf Moor boss Scott Parker remained coy when asked about the rumour on Wednesday. To be fair, it’s never something that I will discuss”, he said. “I think I have been consistent with that and I will stick to that really. We will be looking around and we will see that regarding individual names, (but) it’s not something that I want to comment on.”