Nedim Bajrami makes Rangers transfer future stance crystal clear as Martin sold a wicked winger he rates highly
Nedim Bajrami has told Rangers he is going nowhere despite speculation over his future and links with a return to Serie A.
The Light Blues attacker has been the subject of criticism during his debut season over his performances after arriving for £3.5million last summer under Philippe Clement.
The Albania international - who has been h onoured in his homeland with a special mural after his Euro 2024 heroics - has been linked with a quick-fire Ibrox exit with former club Sassulolo reportedly keen after a return to Italy's top flight.
When quizzed about his future, he said: "In football, you never say never. But I am currently focused only on Rangers.
"It is a special emotion to be back in my home town.
"My advice to everyone is to never stop believing in yourself."
Bajrami made 44 appearances for Rangers last season in all competitions and scored five goals for the club including the opening goal in the League Cup Final against Celtic in December, which they eventually lost on penalties.
Meanwhile, Barry Fry has warned Rangers they face a 25 club battle to land Kwame Poku as he delivered an inside track on the winger.
It's set to be a busy summer at Ibrox with a host of names already linked but as they seek out a Vaclav Cerny replacement, the Peterborough star has emerged as a potential solution.
Fry told Mail Sport: 'Kwame's top drawer. The Rangers fans would absolutely love him if he went up to Scotland.
'He's a very skilful player. A very exciting player. He gets the ball and you get on the end of your seat.
'You expect things to happen when he is in possession.
'Wherever he goes, he'll be a fans' favourite because he's such an exciting player.
'But he scores goals too and creates them. He's a lovely lad and I've really enjoyed him being at the club.
'In truth I could have sold him on January 1.
'There was a dozen top clubs in the Championship who wanted him then to push forward but he was injured. He never played until the end of March. He still got in the League One Team of the Year – and he missed almost half the games through injury. So it just shows you what an outstanding player he is at our level.'
Destined for the English Premier League one day?
Fry added: 'One million per cent. He's only 23 so I've no doubt he'll get there.
'He's a lovely boy and he's got tremendous potential to go to the top. But wherever he goes next, he's got to play.'
Meanwhile, Cyriel Dessers has already shaken hands on a £30,000-a-week deal with AEK Athens as previously told by Record Sport.
But as things stand a deal is yet to be reached between the two clubs.
However, reports coming out of Greece state 'talks are in a good mood' and they remain optimistic about landing their top priority target.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
‘My phone exploded' – Alloa boss reacts to dream Rangers Premier Sports Cup draw as he eyes stunning Ibrox upset
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ALLOA boss Andy Graham's convinced the Wasps can sting Rangers again in the Premier Sports Cup. His League One side stormed into the last 16 draw with four wins from four to top Group C, including the scalps of Premiership Dundee and Championship Airdrie. 2 Alloa boss Andy Graham Credit: Michael Schofield 2 He's already pulled off an upset against Premiership side Dundee this season Credit: Michael Schofield And they've been rewarded with a glittering tie and big pay-day for the club against Russell Martin's team at Ibrox. Holders Celtic have got a home tie against newly promoted Falkirk. Incredibly, part-time Alloa are unbeaten in their last two meetings against the Gers, including a draw at Ibrox in the Championship in April, 2016. Indeed, over nine previous matches the little club from Clackmannanshire have only lost three times, with a sensational 3-2 victory in the League Challenge Cup in 2014. Graham - over 250 games as an Alloa player and boss since 2023 - told SunSport: 'I didn't see the draw because I was out with my family. 'But my phone exploded, so I knew immediately who we'd got! 'It's a fantastic game - the players will be really excited while I'm sure the club will also be happy. 'It's the kind of game you want, a big team and a great stadium. 'It's a really good draw and one the players deserve for the way they qualified from the group. 'I think we're the only team from out-with the top two divisions to get through, so we have to be proud of that. Rangers transfer special assesses whether Conor Coady deal is OFF, if Hamza Igamane will leave and when the Gers can expect more incomings 'It's a game for us to enjoy - but we must also go to Ibrox and BELIEVE. 'I remember going to Parkhead, when Jack Ross was manager, nine years ago and Celtic were flying. We'd also had a good start to the season. 'We pushed them all the way. 'We lost a goal in the 83rd minute to James Forrest and then Moussa Dembele later made it 2-0. 'But we gave it a really good go that night. 'Of course Rangers will be heavy favourites - but you have to go there and believe you can cause an upset. 'The players have been fantastic in the Cup group stage and their confidence levels are high. Premier Sports Cup draw Celtic v Falkirk Kilmarnock v Dundee United Rangers v Alloa Livingston v Hibs St Johnstone v Motherwell Morton v Aberdeen Partick Thistle v Ayr United St Mirren v Hearts. 'We've got very important games before that in the league, starting with the opener at Stenhousemuir on Saturday. 'But the Rangers tie is a big one to look forward to. It's what you play football for, the players will want to test themselves against the quality they've got.' On Alloa's remarkable recent stats against Rangers, Graham said: 'It's incredible. There aren't many clubs in Scotland who'd have that record. 'We'll go to Ibrox and I'll want the players to showcase their talent, show just how good they are.' Scottish Cup winners Aberdeen go to Morton while St Mirren host Hearts, Dundee United visit Kilmarnock and Hibs travel to Livingston. Ties will be played weekend August 16-17. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Celtic and Rangers handed home draws in Premier Sports Cup as St Mirren join them in last 16
Holders Celtic will host Premiership newcomers Falkirk in the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup. Today's draw produced a repeat of last season's quarter-final, which Brendan Rodgers ' side won 5-2 on their way to lifting the trophy. Rangers were also handed a home tie as League One side Alloa Athletic, surprise winners of Group C, were rewarded with a trip to Ibrox. Alloa are the only third-tier side left in the competition after a 3-2 win at Airdrie on Saturday maintained their 100-per-cent record in the group phase. There are four all-Premiership ties, with Kilmarnock at home to Dundee United, Livingston hosting Hibs and St Mirren entertaining Hearts. The knockout stage introduces the five clubs who qualified for Europe and were spared participation in the groups. All five were seeded alongside Hearts, St Johnstone and Partick Thistle, the three best section winners. The draw was held shortly after St Mirren rounded off the group phase with a 2-1 victory against Ayr United in Paisley. Despite that result, Ayr progressed as one of the three best group runners-up and can now look forward to an all-Championship tie against Partick, who eliminated Ross County by beating them 3-1 in Dingwall on Saturday. The last 16 also paired St Johnstone with Motherwell and Morton with Aberdeen. Ayr started the day top of Group D and would have gone through as a seeded team had they beaten St Mirren, but a poor first-half display proved costly for Scott Brown's side as Killian Phillips scored twice for the home team to take his tally to four in two games. The midfielder's first goal came after 16 minutes, when goalkeeper David Mitchell failed to deal with his low shot and defender Nick McAllister could not prevent it crossing the line. When Roland Idowu picked him out in the box, the Irishman cleverly guided his second home seven minutes before half-time. Lifted by the introduction of Jude Bonnar, the midfielder on loan from Celtic, Ayr pulled one back through Kevin Holt. His header dipped under the bar after a corner by Dom Thomas. Saints saw the game out to top the group on a day when Dunfermline were denied a place in the last 16 on goal difference. On a high-scoring weekend, St Johnstone thrashed 10-man Elgin City 8-0 and Livingston beat Kelty 6-0, while Dundee and Raith each scored five against Montrose and Inverness respectively.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
The football wasn't flawless but for true grit you can't fault us
I played in an Olympic Games or two. Have I mentioned it before? And, frankly, I melted, in the second one in Sydney. Melted in the heat, wilted, shrivelled, ground down by the pressure, the occasion and, oh yes, the heat. But Chloe Kelly. Wonderful, emollient, self-possessed, bullet-proof Chloe. Was there anyone in the stadium, in Switzerland, in the world, cooler than this sublime footballer as she scored the championship-winning goal; anyone who could have conveyed such confidence; anyone who could have pulled it off with such swagger, just as when she scored the winner in the last Euros, taking off her shirt and waving it around her head as she wheeled away from goal, a moment of thrilling iconography, not least for my 12-year-old daughter, who ran eight times around the house. This time it was a penalty kick (yes, England won a major final on penalties!), hit hard and true, after an absorbing, nerve-racking, utterly immersive game of knockout football of the kind we have come to expect from this group of players, led by a lionhearted general in Sarina Wiegman. The England coach, who some over-excited pundits were calling to be sacked after England lost to France in the opening match, has injected belief into this squad, motivating them, rousing them, getting them to understand that liberating (but hard to learn) truth that pressure isn't something to fear but to embrace. Throughout this tournament England haven't always played flawlessly but that grit, that iron resolve, has never been absent. I mean, wasn't it lovely to see the determination of Michelle Agyemang in her role as an impact substitute, the solidity of Hannah Hampton, the goalkeeper, the leadership of Leah Williamson, who has perhaps never looked more formidable? This victory was more about derring-do than four four two; more about psychology than formation; more about what's written in hearts and minds than those rather elaborate arrow-laden whiteboards you see in dressing rooms. And while I don't like turning sportspeople into role models (frankly, it isn't their job, is it?), perhaps I might say this. I wouldn't my mind my daughter (or my 11-year-old son, come to that) taking a leaf or three out of the book of this squad. I think of the work ethic (and turn of pace) of Lauren Hemp, who grew up in North Walsham, Norfolk, where she played as a teenager in the Boys' Elite Player Development Centre in Norwich because she was good enough to hold her own and grafted as hard as any of them. I think of Lucy Bronze, who grew up painfully shy, found her voice on the football pitch, battling with her brother during her years at secondary school, before going to university, working at a Domino's Pizza to make ends meet, and then becoming perhaps the most indomitable player in the team. There were times in the final when she seemed more like a piece of granite than a human being, not least after hobbling off the pitch with cramp, and then hobbling back on, before making another last ditch, potentially goal-stopping challenge. And let me mention Agyemang again, a teenager with the widest of smiles, who scored 41 seconds into her debut for England (against Belgium) and then knocked in two equalisers during the knockout stages of the Euros. There was a lovely interview with a teacher at Southend High School for Girls called April Smith, who spotted her potential during lunchtime kickarounds. 'There was just something really special about her, not just from a playing perspective, but a mentality perspective. She always wanted to do more, always worked really hard,' she told the BBC. Always wanted to do more. Always worked really hard. If you had to pick out two statements to capture this England team, these don't do a bad job. This has been yet another evocation of solidarity, of spirit, of a group of players becoming so much more than the sum of their parts. I've enjoyed every minute. And judging by my neighbours dancing jigs in their gardens as that last penalty went in, so did most of the nation.
