Max Johnston, the son of former Rangers winger Allan, could now be set to stand in the way of an Ibrox Champions League place with Austrian Bundesliga outfit Sturm Graz.
This comes with the highly-rated 19-year-old right-back reportedly on the verge of agreeing a deal with the Austrian side following the expiration of his contract at Fir Park.
According to Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph, Max Johnston is in “advanced transfer talks” with Sturm Graz regarding a potentially exciting move to the European continent for the defender.
With extensive links to the likes of Sporting Lisbon and Torino earlier in the summer, it appears the Austrians have held off substantial interest with Joseph claiming they’ll pay a touch over £300k to complete the deal.
There have been grumbles in Rangers circles that the club hasn’t moved for Scotland-trained Max Johnston this summer but with Sturm Graz, the right-back could be set to visit Ibrox after all.
Max Johnston and Sturm Graz potential Rangers Champions League foes
Both Rangers and the Austrian Bundesliga runners-up are set to enter Champions League qualification at the QR3 stage and are potential opponents for each other this summer.
Rangers could also face Serbian side TSK Backa Topola, Belgian outfit Genk, Greek side Panathinaikos, Ukrainian team Dnipro and Swiss club Servette for a spot in the Playoff Round.
With £13.5m of guaranteed prize money up for grabs for Champions League qualification, Rangers have their eyes firmly set on the prize with Michael Beale claiming that the club will go all out in their assault on the competition this season.
Rangers had a massively underwhelming tournament in the last campaign as a tough draw, a lack of confidence and a painful run of injuries, particularly in defence, contributed to an awful return to the competition.
But with renewed optimism under Michael Beale, there is hope Rangers can make an impact and as part of that the club must overcome two rounds of qualifiers to make the competition.
If the latest reports are correct, then Rangers may well have to overcome Max Johnston should the right-back move to Sturm Graz and the Ibrox side draw the Austrians in the qualifiers.
