Reported Rangers target Jake Cooper played the full 90 minutes for Millwall as Michael Beale admits the club could look to strengthen in defence.
The towering 6ft6 centre-back suffered late heartbreak in the match too, with Millwall conceding in the 94th minute, falling to a late Danny James strike in a 1-0 defeat to Bristol City.
The result is Jake Cooper and Millwall’s second defeat on the bounce, the Lions having lost 4-0 to Reading during the week after opening their Championship campaign with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
Rangers fans will have one eye on what happens with Jake Cooper in the weeks ahead after the 28-year-old stopper was linked to Ibrox once again this summer.
Cooper’s name will be familiar to Rangers fans, with the centre-back reportedly a high-profile target of Steven Gerrard’s back in 2018 amid talk of a failed £3m bid.
Rangers boss admits defender pursuit amid Jake Cooper links
Now in the final year of his contract, it is not clear how much it would take for Rangers to sign the defender, with Jake Cooper potentially the man to fill that much talked-about left-sided centre-back role.
Rangers have been linked with defensive reinforcements all summer long and have seen links to now Sheffield United defender Auston Trusty and Nottingham Forest’s Jonathan Panzo fizzle out.
The links to Jake Cooper also come as Rangers boss Michael Beale admits that the club are considering a move to strengthen the defence this summer.
This comes with much exit chatter surrounding the likes of Ben Davies and the other three senior stoppers in Connor Goldson, John Souttar and Leon Balogun all suffering injuries over the last few seasons.
“There’s a lot of speculation about it,” Beale said ahead of the 4-0 victory over Livingston.
“The two players who are not fit at the moment, Ben and Ridvan, will return to training this week.
“Dujon Sterling has looked like a steam train in training but it’s about looking for that moment.
“I want some consistency in the team right now. I think that will benefit everyone, a little bit of consistency, so you are only rotating through tiredness or injury at the moment.
“But look, it’s an area we may look to do something. We’re speaking to different players. But at this moment in time I’ve got to make sure it makes us stronger.”
As those Rangers links to Millwall star Jake Cooper remain up in the air, another defender linked to Ibrox continues to be frozen out by his Italian manager.
