£10m Rangers 'target' sees Birmingham door close as Patati price tag plummets amid triple Ibrox winger search
Rangers have been handed a major boost in their hunt for a new winger, with reported target Jesurun Rak-Sakyi seemingly no longer a wanted by Birmingham City.
Russell Martin is closing in on deals for centre-backs Conor Coady and Nasser Djiga but after that, all the noises suggest he'll be looking to strengthen in the wide areas.
The fact 18-year-old wide man Findlay Curtis was the only player to finish the 90 minutes against Club Brugge almost felt as if the new boss was making a point about his dire lack of options in those areas – with Oscar Cortes, Ross McCausland and the injured Rabbi Matondo the only natural wingers in his squad currently.
But it looks as if that's going to change. And soon.
Reports over the weekend put Rak-Sakyi firmly on the radar after he returned to Crystal Palace following an impressive loan spell at Sheffield United last season.
He's had plenty of interest within the EFL, with his former side United as well as Southampton and Birmingham all credited with keeping tabs on the 22-year-old.
It seems the latter of those options is now off the table, however. Since firm links emerged last month, they've since signed Demarai Grai, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Kanya Fujimoto who can be seen as direct positional rivals. Not to mention spending big on Kyogo, who has taken a serious chunk out of their budget.
That narrows the field at least slightly and, while Palace's reported £10m asking price seems steep for Rangers' purposes, a potential loan with an option to buy down the line looks a prudent option if the player is open to a move to Scotland.
Another potential wide alternative on the table is highly-rated Maccabi tel Aviv man Wessley Patati.
The 'Brazilian Magician', as he's affectionately known by fans over there, had been rated at €10m (£8.6m) in recent reports in the South American media but that appears to have overshot the mark and then some.
Now, EOL Esporte are claiming that AZ Alkmaar have had a €3.5m (£3m) bid rejected for his services – but that Maccabi are chasing a fee of just €5m (£4.3m).
That new price tag puts him right in the range Rangers would be looking for, and makes a double deal for him and his club teammate Dor Turgeman look financially realistic – especially if Hamza Igamane does end up sealing a £15m exit to Lille.
Russell Martin though played that one down following the 2-2 draw with Club Brugge and suggested he'll have a role to play at Ibrox until things ramp up.
After the Moroccan sat out of the Ibrox friendly, in which Danilo led the line from the start, Martin said: "Hamza's (absence) has just been a bit of a red tape. He was due back this week with the other international players.
'He was at the airport and they just didn't have the right visa. I don't think it's anyone's fault. Things have changed since he last got his visa. So, we had to wait for him to get a new one, which he should have tomorrow and he will be with us this week.
'I haven't heard of any (bid), not that I know of.'
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