David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano deal Rangers double Premier League transfer blow
07/01/2024 08:00 AM
Rangers know that they have to offer more than Premier League millions to entice high profile signings to the club.
If it comes down to pound sterling, then there is no contest.
The Gers will even be the first to admit it.
But the Ibrox side are most certainly not alone with some of football's biggest clubs struggling to overcome the financial pull of England's top flight.
Now, two players who have been the subject of ambitious Rangers links look set to opt for moves elsewhere as the financial punch of the Premier League delivers a double Ibrox knock-out.
Sessegnon training with Premier League club
Ryan Sessegnon was released from Tottenham Hotspur this summer after a disappointing five years with the North London club.
Once amongst the most talented young players in the English game, Sessegnon has played the full length of the left-hand side of the pitch during his time in football.
Now the ex-England U21 international and Fulham talent is a free agent with Rangers mentioned as a potential suitor alongside West Ham United by HITC and Graeme Bailey.
Interestingly, whilst the report names Fulham, Leeds United, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Real Betis, Monza, Como and Atalanta as also being interested, the winger appears bound somewhere else.
As revealed by David Ornstein of the Athletic, Ryan Sessegnon is training with Crystal Palace with a view to a free contract transfer switch.
Austrian manager Oliver Glasner is said to be big fan of the winger since a loan stint with Hoffenheim back in 2020/21.
Rangers-linked Johnson agrees deal
With those ambitious links to Ryan Sessegnon now looking increasingly unlikely, there is another free-contract Premier League star who has been linked with Rangers.
Ben Johnson – who has now officially been released by West Ham United – has been the subject of reports surrounding Rangers since the January window.
With the Rangers interest labelled 'concrete' in this transfer window, Gers fans had been waiting for an update on the player's situation before West Ham confirmed Johnson's exit this week.
Now, Fabrizio Romano has taken to X to confirm that Ben Johnson, as expected, has agreed a deal with newly promoted Ipswich Town.
Both players certainly represent ambitious targets and – whilst we can't confirm nor deny how serious those links to Rangers ever were – they're set to remain in the Premier League.
Ben Johnson certainly felt like a more serious target than Ryan Sessegnon but both players do not fit the new transfer direction taken by the club this summer.
Rangers are targeting young players with high potential from emerging markets as they look to kick a stagnant player trading model into action.
That's even if experience is also on Philippe Clement's radar.
