Rangers are set to be dealt a blow in their pursuit of transfer target Tyrese Campbell, who is set to stay with Championship Stoke City according to reports.
The Stoke Sentinel originally reported that Stoke are “quietly confident” that the England U20 striker would sign a new deal with the Championship club as his contract runs down.
The Daily Record then ran a similar “exclusive” claiming that Campbell was set to turn down Rangers in order to stay with the Potters.
This news comes just a day after reports claimed Campbell had Rangers down as a “preferred choice” up north [Daily Record], ruling rivals Celtic out of the running.
Both Old Firm clubs were said to be monitoring the striker closely [Independent] with cross-border compensation rules meaning Rangers or Celtic would pay considerably less for the striker’s services.
The fact Campbell had reportedly made it clear he’d prefer a move to Rangers than Celtic might’ve had bluenoses chuckling, but this news will come as a blow to the support.
Club insider Four Lads Had a Dream had appeared to confirm the Ibrox club’s interest in a pre-contract move for the player [Four Lads] but now it appears he will be staying with Stoke.
But as is normally the way with high-profile transfer pursuits like this, nothing is over until it’s signed and made public, so Rangers fans will retain one eye on the player’s immediate future.
Campbell joined Stoke from Man City in 2017, with the Staffordshire club ordered to pay the Citizens £1.75m in compensation.
