The transfer battle for James Penrice is heating up significantly, with AEK Athens ready to play hardball over the left-back despite his camp suspected to be working to engineer a move back to the UK amid interest from Rangers.
Rangers remain interested in the 27-year-old as Andrew Cavenagh continues his search for proven, high-quality Scottish players to add to the Light Blues squad this summer.
However, any potential return to Scotland is not going to be straightforward. Reliable reports from the Greek press suggest that AEK Athens are preparing to extract maximum value before they even consider sitting down at the negotiating table.
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James Penrice camp may be fuelling exit talk amid Rangers interest
The daily transfer speculation appearing in the British media regarding Penrice appears to have concrete backing.
Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers are said to have made enquiries over signing the former Hearts ace, while Rangers are considered silent observers as things stand.
According to Greek outlet Sportime, the proverb “there’s no smoke without fire” completely applies to this situation, and they suspect the player’s own camp is actively fuelling these transfer scenarios to force a move.
The Scottish defender has struggled to establish himself as an undisputed starter in Athens following his £2million move from Hearts last summer.
Having spent parts of his debut season playing second fiddle to Stavro Pilo, his camp appears eager to find a route home to secure guaranteed first-team minutes.
AEK Athens ready to play hardball despite squad shortage
There have been suggestions that AEK Athens director of football Javier Ribalta is quietly pushing Penrice out to save face after spending £2m to sign him last season.
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However, Sportime reports that Ribalta still believes Penrice is a player who can offer more to the team in the new season.
AEK, though, are prepared to sanction an exit if the left-back is showing a clear tendency to leave, although they are considering slapping a ‘significant starting price’ on him.
This is a bold, hardline stance from the Athens board, considering they currently have a lack of options in that position.
Aside from Pilo, AEK have no other recognised left-back options in their entire squad.
Therefore, the Greek giants are determined not to let the Rangers target go on the cheap and will demand substantial compensation to sanction any summer release.
