Motherwell right-back Max Johnston has threatened to be the latest homegrown talent to slip through Rangers’ fingers as Sporting Lisbon become the latest club to be linked.
The 19-year-old – who is the son of former Rangers winger Allan Johnston – is reportedly hot property around Europe and now the Portuguese giants have been linked with a move.
That’s according to to the Daily Record, who name the Lisbon giants alongside an extensive list of suitors which includes clubs from the Premier League, Serie A and Ligue 1.
Whilst Rangers haven’t been officially linked for Max Johnston, the situation surrounding the right-back will be of interest to the club given homegrown quotas and recent comments about signing local talent.
Rangers need at least eight players who’ve been trained in Scotland for three years before their 21st birthday in a full complement of a 25-man UEFA competition squad.
At the moment, the likes of Allan McGregor will be moving on, whilst Ryan Jack (Aberdeen), Scott Arfield (Falkirk) and Scott Wright (Aberdeen) are either ageing rapidly, injured or misfiring.
Motherwell’s Max Johnston linked to Sporting Lisbon and not Rangers
Looking to the Scottish Premiership is a must for Rangers but the club has slept in recent seasons and now Max Johnston could be the latest to slip through the net.
Rangers failed to get any prospective deal for Aberdeen midfielder Lewis Ferguson over the line before he moved to Bologna, whilst the likes of Aaron Hickey (Bologna), Josh Doig (Verona) and Ryan Porteous (Watford) have all moved elsewhere.
Whilst the talent pool is sparse, Rangers need to be on top of the best talents coming out of the Premiership to ensure the strongest possible quota-meeting squad and at the moment we’re struggling to do that.
The club’s outgoing sporting director Ross Wilson said as much at the most recent AGM, and fans will have a close eye on the best talent coming out of Scotland as a result.
Max Johnston certainly falls into that category, but with Sporting Lisbon the latest name to be linked, Rangers appear to have once again missed the boat.
