Todd Cantwell’s fall from being a potential England international linked with big money moves to frozen out at Norwich City is one that Rangers did well to take advantage of.
The 25-year old’s future could have been different though after the player himself revealed that he was close to jumping ship a year before he left Carrow Road for Ibrox.
Todd Cantwell has been a big miss in recent weeks, however, Rangers might have missed out on the playmaker entirely after he told The Big Football Podcast about interest from elsewhere.
Todd Cantwell on move that would have scuppered Rangers deal
Rangers and Leeds United seem to be linked every transfer window with players moving in various directions and it was the Championship club who Cantwell nearly joined in the winter window of 2022.
Speaking to The Big Football Podcast, Todd Cantwell has explained just how close Rangers came to missing the boat on one of their most influential players:
“It was close, it was concrete but that’s something I won’t go into the details of. There’s a lot of people that still work within these clubs and you never know when your paths are going to cross.
“For whatever reason they didn’t come to an agreement. It wasn’t to do with me, it was to do with the clubs. The conversations were real and the interest was definitely real though.”
For a reported £1.5m Rangers did well to bring Todd Cantwell to Scottish football.
When he moved to Bournemouth on loan from Norwich instead of the move to Leeds that broke down, an £11m option to buy clause was included in the deal, as confirmed by the player on the podcast.
From £50m rumours of Premier League transfers to a £10m clause, Norwich’s neglect looks even worse than Rangers letting Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent walk for nothing.
Cantwell should be back soon and he will be hoping that the form that saw him linked with some of England’s biggest teams as well as the end of last season isn’t far away.
God knows Philippe Clement will need him at his mercurial best to turn this season around.
