The transfer market has gone to another level this summer with one rumour showing why former academy kid and Man City youth player Dire Mebude is way out of Rangers reach now.
The 19-year old Scotland youth international is out of contract at the end of 2024, however, one of his teammates is attracting big money interest in a sign of the times.
West Ham United’s reported bid for Man City’s Carlos Borges includes the sort of figures that Dire Mebude might command if Rangers were ever to try and bring him back.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Hammers are looking to land the Portuguese winger for a fee in the region of £14m.
Why Man City kid Dire Mebude is out of Rangers reach
Carlos Borges is a fine prospect with 29 goals and 18 assists in 33 youth appearances last season but £14m for a player who has never kicked a ball in the senior game is incredible.
Dire Mebude isn’t quite as prolific but, at the same age, playing for the same team, he has 14 goals and 15 assists on the opposite wing and has attracted interest from PSV Eindhoven in the past, on top of his upbringing at Rangers.
His career trajectory is very much on an upward curve given what he will have learned at the Premier League champions over the last couple of years.
The only way that a player with the profile of Dire Mebude is available to Rangers nowadays is on a pre-contract agreement and by only paying development compensation as we did for Calvin Bassey.
Man City aren’t in the habit of letting their talented youngsters go cheaply and Mebude would be treated the same, especially if he stays long enough to be classed as an English trained player.
Eyebrows are being raised spending £3-4m for players with Serie A experience and a previous record of success, imagine if we paid three times that for a teenager who has never played at senior level?
Rangers want to buy low and sell high.
It used to be that young players were cheaper and more readily available, now, potential alone is enough to see exoribtant price tags.
It’s not the Saudi Arabian Pro League that is ruin football, it’s been on this path for years thanks to the Premier League.
