Russell Martin remains quiet about Jamie Vardy link to Rangers
The 38-year-old forward, who saw a move to Genoa fall through, has now been heavily touted for a switch to Ibrox after leaving the Foxes at the end of last season.
Recently-appointed Gers boss Martin remained coy but refused to dismiss the prospect, when asked after his side's 2-2 pre-season friendly draw at home to Club Brugge on Sunday if Vardy was a target.
'I think I've been asked about so many players,' he said. 'Some miles away, some on the money. So basically, I'm not going to give you an answer on that.
But I guess you'll find out who's real and who's not in the next few weeks.'
Rangers have already added five new players this summer and Martin, who has also been linked with defenders Conor Coady and Nasser Djiga, said he expects 'the squad to look different in a week's time'.
'I think we definitely want to do more, for sure,' he said. 'And also probably some players need to move on as well at some point because the squad's going to start looking very big and very heavy.'
Rangers strikers Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane have been heavily linked with moves away in recent weeks. Dessers – top scorer last term – sat out Sunday's friendly due to injury but Martin indicated that he is keen to keep the Nigerian, who was the subject of a recent bid from AEK Athens.
'Cyriel's just been injured, he's had a bit of a niggly ankle, but he was here today,' said the manager.
'We turned down a bid a while ago for him. That was nowhere near the valuation of the football club. And he's been great, he's desperate to train. We had to give him some treatment this week on his ankle since he's been back.
'But I'm looking forward to working with him, so that's just nowhere near happening. And hopefully he will get on the training pitch this week, and he'll start enjoying it. But he's not kicked up one moment of fuss. He seems a really good professional.'
It has been reported that Igamane, who has not been able to return to Scotland from his native Morocco this summer due to visa issues, is close to joining Lille.
'Hamza's just been a bit of a red tape,' explained Martin. 'He was due back this week with the other international players, he was at the airport and he didn't quite have the right visa, so I don't think it's anyone's fault.
'Things have changed since he last got his visa, so we've had to wait for him to get his new one, which he should have tomorrow all being well. So hopefully he will be with us this week at some point.'
Asked about interest from Lille, Martin said: 'I haven't heard of any.'
Pressed further on whether he expected to have Dessers and Igamane available for the first leg of the Champions League second qualifying round tie at home to Panathinaikos a fortnight on Tuesday, Martin said: 'That's two weeks away, so I can't plan for anything in football.'
Martin, who also revealed that defender Clinton Nsiala is likely to leave on loan, reported that key centre-back is John Souttar is recovering well after undergoing hernia surgery this summer.
'The big man's good, he's trained the last few days,' he said. 'He's reacting really well to his operation and what's he had in training. He'll be back in properly this week and he'll play next weekend (in a closed-doors friendly in England).'
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
Shelbourne 'toughest draw' we could have got
Linfield manager David Healy says their Champions League first qualifying round tie against Shelbourne will be a "challenge" for his Irish Premiership holders take on the League of Ireland Premier Division winners in the first leg at Tolka Park on Wednesday (19:45 BST).The two sides then face off at Windsor Park on Wednesday, 16 July in the return leg, with both games live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport Damien Duff's abrupt departure as Shels boss last month, the Dubliners have appointed former West Ham and Republic of Ireland defender Joey O'Brien on a long-term deal. "When the draw was made, out of the four or five possibles we could have got I think Shelbourne is the toughest draw we could have got," he told BBC's Sportsound programme."You don't become champions over a team like Shamrock Rovers by not being a good side. They're a top side they have top players all over the pitch and it's going to be a challenge for us. "They've changed their manager, so we need to look at their recent games and see if there are any sort of tweaks in personnel and tactics."
Daily Record
34 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Luuk de Jong sees Rangers talks leaked by PSV as real Patati transfer fee named amid Aribo murmur
Business is ramping up for Russell Martin with the Champions League qualifiers rapidly approaching PSV Eindhoven boss Peter Bosz admits he HAS spoken to Luuk de Jong about Rangers as he looks to keep the veteran striker a the club. Reports in the Netherlands had suggested that the former Barcelona, Newcastle United and Sevilla frontman would be "open" to a move to Ibrox this summer. PSV have returned to training and offered de Jong a new deal and facilities for the close season but the 34-year-old has yet to give his answer over extending his stay in Eindhoven. And Bosz admits he remains in contract with the frontman - with the Scottish Premiership side making it to the agenda during their phone calls. De Telegraaf on murmurs over a move to the Scottish Premiership. The boss said: "He knows that I would really like to keep him. I did talk to him about that on the phone. "I don't want to bombard him with messages. I don't want to tire him with that. "He knows what I think of him, what the club thinks of him. So he knows how much we want to keep him." Maccabi Tel Aviv's 21-year-old winger Weslley Patati has also been floated as a target by reports in Israel with Rangers also pursuing his teammate Dor Turgeman. AZ and the UAE clubs are said to have submitted offers up already to the value of €4m (£3.5m) – but that the Tel Aviv club aren't entertaining that and want €10m (£8.6m) before they'll consider selling him. But former Maccabi star Eyal Berkovic has warned the club they will have to lower their price tag - or face a rebellion from the Brazilian in pre-season. He told 103FM's sports program: "Israel is a transitory place. If Patati receives an offer, Maccabi Tel Aviv has a big problem. "No team will pay ten million euros, and then they are left with a sad player. They need to find the price that everyone will be happy with. "A new contract won't help. Even if today he earns 300-400 thousand euros and you give him 700, he will be sad." "If I am Patati now, and there is an offer for me of €5m (£4.3m) from Girona, I come to Maccabi and say - don't bother me. I stop smiling. Do you want me, a Brazilian, to stop smiling? I am injured, sick, I don't care, I want to go. "How much did they buy him for, €1m? You tripled the money, you quadrupled it, thank you very much." It's one that will catch the eye of Rangers fans - and potentially Russell Martin - with Joe Aribo set to leave Southampton this summer. The Ibrox boss is a big fan of the playmaker from his time at St Mary's and after suffering his second relegation since leaving Ibrox behind in 2022 reports south of the border suggest he will leave in a "cut-price" deal. The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract and TeamTalk report Saints chiefs are open to offers.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Thomas Frank faces Champions League squad headache at Tottenham
Thomas Frank is facing a Champions League headache as he starts work with his Tottenham Hotspur squad and waits for the club to make a major breakthrough in the transfer market. Tottenham's players have started to return to pre-season training under Frank, who has succeeded Ange Postecoglou as the club's latest head coach. Spurs have so far only signed £5 million Japanese central defender Kota Takai, but are hopeful of securing one of their top targets, West Ham United star Mohammed Kudus. Frank and Tottenham are facing a Champions League headache, with the club possibly having to name a depleted European A-list squad and potentially being forced to leave senior players out. That is why a return for versatile full-back Kyle Walker-Peters, who is out of contract after leaving Southampton, has been discussed internally as he would boost Tottenham's club-trained quota. The current belief, however, is that a deal will not be pursued. Clubs are allowed to name a 25-man Champions League squad, of which eight must be locally trained. Up to four of the locally trained players can be association-trained, with an additional four club-trained. If a club has fewer than eight locally trained players in its squad, then its maximum number of A list players is reduced accordingly. Tottenham currently have 24 non-locally trained players, although that includes Takai, Manor Solomon, Bryan Gil, Alejo Veliz, Yang-min Hyeok, Luka Vuskovic and goalkeeper Josh Keeley. Adding Kudus or any other non-club-trained player to their squad this summer would almost certainly need to be balanced by selling one or more. Frank's biggest headache centres around the association and club-trained players in his squad. Club-trained players are those that have been with Spurs for three entire seasons between the ages of 15 and 21 of which Tottenham currently have only one - third-choice goalkeeper Brandon Austin. Walker-Peters would count as a club-trained player, having signed for the academy in 2013 and stayed at the club for seven years before moving to Southampton. Sunderland left-back Dennis Cirkin has also been linked with a return to Tottenham and he too would count as a club-trained player. Association-trained players are those who were at another club in the same association for three entire seasons between the ages of 15 and 21 of which Spurs have seven - Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Ben Davies, Archie Gray, Djed Spence and Ashley Phillips. This is not the first time Tottenham have faced problems with their European squad, with sources blaming the recurring issue on poor planning and an inability to improve the academy production line. In 2018, former manager Mauricio Pochettino criticised Tottenham's recruitment policy after being forced to leave Juan Foyth, Georges-Kévin Nkoudou and Vincent Janssen out of his Champions League squad. Pochettino said: 'I am so disappointed from the beginning. Not only with Foyth – also Nkoudou and Janssen. That's so painful. It's a mistake that we made which, at that level of football, we cannot repeat again.' Last season, Postecoglou was forced to juggle his Europa League squad. He left Djed Spence out of his squad for the league phase before bringing the full-back in for the knock-out stage, along with January signings Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel. Fraser Forster, Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin, who was injured, stepped down. Tottenham are able to top up their Champions League numbers with B-list players, who were born on or after January 1, 2004 and have been able to play for the club for any uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday - or a total of three consecutive years. Were Tottenham to name an A list of 22 players, then the likes of striker Dane Scarlett and midfielders Jamie Donley, who spent last season on loan at Leyton Orient, and Alfie Devine could be named on the B list. Solomon is among the non-locally trained players who currently face the prospect of being left out of Spurs' Champions League squad if he stays at the club. The winger spent last season on loan at Leeds United in the Championship, but he has managed to return from Israel in time for the start of pre-season training with Tottenham. Solomon was stuck in his home country because of the conflict with Iran, having returned to Israel to marry his long-term partner Dana Vaoshina. But sources close to the player have confirmed he has managed to return to England and that the 25-year-old will return to pre-season training with Spurs later this week.
