Rangers transfer news: Russell Martin 'eyes up two signings' as 16y/o prepares for exit door

Martin was named as Rangers head coach on Thursday morning, six days on from the takeover by an American consortium led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises. His arrival comes hot on the heels of Kevin Thelwell taking up office as sporting director on Monday.

Rangers need to bring in players ahead of their Champions League qualification starting in mid-July, with centre-half an obvious area of concern given Leon Balogun’s exit at the end of the season and the impending departure of Robin Propper, who is poised to move back to FC Twente in his homeland of the Netherlands.

England internationalist Coady is currently at Leicester City, who were relegated from the English Premier League in the season just past. The 32-year-old was a regular fixture in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s team, but his future at the King Power Stadium is now uncertain following demotion.

Capped ten times by England, the 32-year-old started his career at Liverpool before moving to Sheffield United, Huddersfield and then Wolves, where he spent seven seasons. He had a loan spell at Everton in the 2022/23 campaign, where his paths crossed with Thelwell during his time as sporting director at Goodison Park.

Coady has one more year on his contract at Leicester, with a potential loan switch mooted between the Foxes and Rangers.

At the other end of the pitch, Rangers have also been linked with Israeli striker Turgeman, who is currently at Maccabi Tel Aviv in his homeland. The 21-year-old, who has scored one goal in seven international appearances, netted 16 times in 32 appearances as Maccabi landed the Israeli title and is expected to move abroad this summer.

Rangers could field bids

Turgeman’s asking price is reported to be in the region of £4 million and there is anticipated interest from other outfits on the continent. Rangers currently have Cyriel Dessers, Hamza Igamane and Danilo on the books as striking options, although there has been interest in Igamane since his form ignited last winter.

Rangers hope to have in the region of £20m to use in the transfer window after fresh investment from the new owners. They may also have to field bids for a couple of their star men, with clubs keeping tabs on midfield duo Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diomande.

Meanwhile, Rangers’ 16-year-old left-back Oliver Goodbrand is set to sign for Newcastle, according to reports in England. The defender is highly-regarded and it is claimed he is due to have a medical at St James’ Park.