Rangers know all too well the difficulty that a transfer request can put a team in.
It is over a month now since Philippe Clement confirmed that Todd Cantwell had asked to leave and, still, offers remain in very short supply.
The £1.5 million man has not kicked a ball since. And with the window closing this week, Rangers can only sit and pray that someone, somewhere submits a bid. Otherwise, they will be stuck with Cantwell – and potentially Ianis Hagi too – gathering dust on the sidelines until January at the earliest.
Cantwell’s former employers, Norwich City, are working through the issues of a transfer request themselves.
And by the admission of Canaries boss Johannes Hoff Thorup, this is not the way Abu Kamara’s Carrow Road career should have ended. An academy graduate who has spent the last 11 years in Norwich colours. One was supposed to make his long-awaited breakthrough this term after a stellar loan spell at Portsmouth.
Rangers keen on Norwich City attacker Abu Kamara
According to Football Scotland, Kamara has admirers north of the border.
Rangers are eyeing up a deal that could set them back just £2 million, while personal terms are not expected to pose much of an obstacle.
Kamara was left out of Norwich’s squad for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield United.
Though Thorup hopes that, if these are to be his final few days in yellow and green, the London-born 21-year-old will depart with the gratitude of those who have watched him rise through the ranks.
“I spoke with him the other day. We just decided that the game will not be for him, for both parties in this, not to create too much distraction and too much attention,” Thorup tells the Eastern Daily Press when explaining Kamara’s omission.
“I think that was also what he, actually at the end, thought was the best decision. So we take it a little bit day by day with Abu and see how it goes.
“Of course, we would have hoped for a better ending for him here in this club,” Thorup adds. “I know now it’s maybe not the time, but at some point we can forgive him, and we can also welcome him back. I would have hoped for a better ending, but now it’s like this.
“And I think everyone can be satisfied with the deal.”
Norwich will not be forced into a cheap sale
Kamara has just one year left on his contract, with Football Scotland suggesting that £2 million could be enough for Rangers to seal the deal.
Norwich have already brought in around £40 million via the sales of Gabriel Sara, Jonathan Rowe and Celtic’s Adam Idah, however. And Thorup insists that Kamara will not be going anywhere on the cheap.
“We don’t give any players away for free, so that’s the situation,” adds the former Nordsjaelland boss. “I like him. He’s a good lad, and I think he performs well in training. And he’s a big part of the group, and will still be, until there is a transfer deal that we can accept.
“Because I think we we’ve proven that with both Jonny and Adam and Gabby so far this window. We can only accept if there’s a good offer.”
The ‘outstanding’ Kamara scored 11 goals and set up 10 more for Portsmouth last term, playing a starring role as the 2008 FA Cup winners secured the League One title.
A right-footed left-winger, Kamara will find himself in direct competition with Rabbi Matondo should he move to Ibrox to help fill the boots of Abdallah Sima.
Clement indicated, after Matondo’s dazzling, two-goal display in the 6-0 hammering of Ross County, that the in-form wideman is unlikely to secure a late-summer switch to Blackburn Rovers.
Rangers have also been linked with Benfica’s Tiago Gouveia.
