Martin reveals long-held desire to link up with Crystal Palace ace as Rangers boss hopes to bring winger to Ibrox

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Rangers boss Russell Martin has admitted he is a long-time admirer of potential transfer target Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.
Martin confirmed his interest in the Crystal Palace winger after it was revealed the Ibrox club have made an enquiry about taking the 22-year-old on loan with a possible option to buy.
Rak-Sakyi has played 10 first-team games for Palace, and scored seven goals in 36 appearances for Sheffield United on loan last season.
The England Under-21 international previously hit 15 goals during a season-long loan with Charlton.
When asked about the reports, former Southampton manager Martin told Sky Sports News: 'There's a lot of players we'll be linked with. Some wide of the mark, some very close and some spot-on.
'He's a player I liked at Southampton, we tried to take him there and it didn't quite happen.
'So, he's a player I like and I think he's a player the recruitment staff like. But, how far that's gone, I'm not too sure.'
Asked if the winger fitted the profile of players he is looking for, Martin added: 'He's a really good player. We look at all sorts of different profiles who we think can help the team. It doesn't necessarily have to be the one type of profile.
'Players are very different, we just need players with the right mentality that are desperate to come and play here. We will see where we end up in four weeks' time.'
Meanwhile, Rangers midfielder Joe Rothwell is confident the Ibrox side are now in pole position to progress in their Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos.
They beat the Greeks 2-0 earlier this week and will travel to Athens in a commanding position for Wednesday's second leg.
Rothwell, 30, impressed on his competitive debut, and believes Rangers should fancy their chances of finishing the job.
'I think we have to now, yeah,' he said. 'At 2-0, it's a good scoreline, especially in this format.
'So we'll go out there and obviously we won't be looking to defend it. We'll try to win the game and score as many goals as we can. The win can be huge.
'The manager said in his press conference it was not going to be a season-defining game, but we wanted to put on a show and really show how he wants to do things.
'I think we managed to do that, controlled the game as we like to do and were just a bit disappointed we didn't go and probably kill the game off a little bit more.
'But we can't complain too much. It's a win and we'll take a lead over there next week.'
Rangers should have been behind before 19-year-old winger Findlay Curtis opened the scoring in the 52nd minute.
After a nervy first half, they had to rely on the brilliance of Jack Butland to make a series of vital saves to keep the game at 0-0.
Rothwell, who was signed from Bournemouth in the summer, was impressed by his first taste of a European night at Ibrox.
'Loved it,' he said. 'Obviously you hear stories from the outside but, when you actually get out there and experience it, it's fantastic.
'I'm sure the fans are going to be behind us in every single game and we'll need them.
'There will be times where it might be a bit tough for us, but I'm sure they'll get behind us and then get us over the finish line.
'You can really see what the manager wants us to do and how we want to play. It was obviously another good test for us and we came through it in the end.'