Incoming Besiktas boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly set to swoop for Rangers playmaker Tom Lawrence.
The Norwegian is set to end four years out of the dug-out by succeeding ex Ibrox boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst at the Turkish outfit. It was van Bronckhorst who signed Wales international Lawrence for Rangers when the Light Blues landed the ex Derby County captain on a free. But the 31-year-old has had a horrendous time with injuries and is now available to sign a pre-contract – with reports claiming Solskjaer could swoop for the player he worked with during his time working with the reserves at Old Trafford when Lawrence was coming through the ranks.
Lawrence hasn’t featured since the Premier Sports Cup semi-final win over Motherwell at Hampden Park at the start of November. Rangers boss Philippe Clement is looking to make changes to his squad but has to offload players before he can recruit and Lawrence is a player he would likely be happy to let go.
Meanwhile, reported target Isaac Price looks set to seal a move to West Bromwich Albion from Clement’s homeland where is currently playing for Standard Liege. The Light Blues have been linked with the former Everton midfielder, who has won 18 caps for Northern Ireland.
Preston North End and the Baggies are interested but reports in Belgium say the former pulled out and the 21-year-old will fly in on Monday to the UK to complete at deal at the Hawthorns, where ex Celtic boss Tony Mowbray has returned as manager, worth between £1.6million and £2.1million.
Price is no longer on the table but one man who certainly is is new defender Rafael Fernandes. His signing from Lille was announced on Saturday morning as he comes in on loan with an option to buy in the summer. Philippe Clement said of his new man: “I am really pleased to welcome Rafael to the squad. He is a young defender who brings with him an asset for our team for the remainder of the season. He has a lot of potential, and I am looking forward to working with him.”
And the player said: “I am very happy to be here, it was a club I wanted to come to since I heard about the interest, and I am really happy to finally be here. My first impressions have been really good, I met some of my colleagues, some of the staff and all of them made me feel comfortable to start this new challenge.”