Rangers are scouting £4 million-rated Hammarby defender Nathaniel Adjei and the club’s sporting director admits that a January sale is ‘not completely out of the question’.
Philippe Clement is not a coach who makes a habit of resting on his laurels and, as far as he is concerned, Rangers’ Scottish League Cup triumph over Aberdeen is just the tip of the iceberg as far as his silverware ambitions are concerned.
The former Monaco and Club Brugge boss is keen to further improve a squad who edged past Barry Robson’s Dons side at Hampden Park, with a central defender and a centre-forward seemingly high on his list of priorities.
Rangers keep tabs on Nathaniel Adjei
According to Sky Sports, Rangers – like Old Firm neighbours Celtic and countless clubs from south of the border – have sent scouts to watch the £4 million-rated Nathaniel Adjei in action for Hammarby in Sweden’s top-flight.
And, when asked about Adjei’s future, Hammarby director Mikael Hjelmberg refused to rule out a sale, even if he remains hopeful of keeping the squad together.
“We feel quite safe with the squad we have. I know people say we came seventh and so on, but there is an awful lot more to this squad,” Hjelmberg tells Fotbollskanalen.
“It’s an incredibly young squad so the players will probably get better if we do a good job. The team will be better next year if we can keep the players we want. That is the ambition. We have no ambition to make any major changes this window.
“(But) it is probably not completely out of the question that there will be a sale this winter. That’s how it is,” the director adds. “But of all those players, our absolute ambition is that basically all of them should stay.
“There have been offers for several of our players that we have turned down. We should not be ashamed to charge good money for our young talented players.”
A long-term Connor Goldson replacement?
Adjei, at 21, is one of those ‘young talented players’ who calls Hammarby home. Like Mason Holgate of Everton – another linked with Rangers – the Ghanaian would give Clement some useful competition for Connor Goldson in the right-sided centre-back role.
Adjei, while right-footed by trade, has impressed on the left of Hammarby’s backline of late. His confidence in possession and versatility would come in very handy at Ibrox.
