One time reported Rangers target and Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer has secured a transfer to Premier League Sheffield United.
The 21-year-old striker will reportedly cost the Blades a whopping £18m in a transfer which proves both what Rangers are up against down south and the opportunity around young English players.
Cameron Archer is one of the English game’s brightest young striker talents and was linked with a loan move to Ibrox last season.
However, Aston Villa opted to keep Cameron Archer around in the first half of the season before the Sheffield United-bound striker went out to Middlesbrough on loan in January.
Scoring eleven Championship goals in 20 games for the Riverside outfit, it shows the talent which Sheffield United have just secured in Cameron Archer.
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Cameron Archer to Sheffield United proves Rangers opportunity
The money involved in the deal shows the kind of challenges Rangers are dealing with when it comes to securing these young English players.
But it also shows the financial opportunities involved should Rangers secure their futures.
When they’ve been tied down on long term contracts loan moves might be possible but it is quite simply unrealistic to believe Rangers can compete with these finances when players are all tied up.
Whilst the club hasn’t been linked to Cameron Archer since last season, Rangers’ best hope of snaring young English talent is in the free-contract market.
The Gers have already exploited UK cross-border compensation rules to sign the likes of Joe Aribo (Charlton) and Calvin Bassey (Leicester) before flipping them for huge returns.
Rangers also currently have coveted English youth international Zak Lovelace in their ranks, securing the young hitman from Millwall last year.
You can bet the recruitment team working behind the scenes at Ibrox will have one eye on the talent which is available on a free down south.
As Sheffield United splash the cash on Cameron Archer, some Rangers fans might be thinking “what if” when it comes to the young striker.
But others will see the finances involved as a massive opportunity and precisely why the club are reportedly competing with some of the Premier League’s top clubs for Divine Mukasa.