While one of the Scottish Premiership’s rising stars aced his Ibrox audition, another tipped for a move to Rangers was cruelly denied the chance to catch the eye of his potential future employers.
Earlier this month, Andy Halliday urged Rangers to raid Dundee for Lyall Cameron and Josh Mulligan.
And while Rangers are yet to express an interest in the latter, despite Mulligan’s latest eye-catching display as Dundee held Philippe Clement’s team at Ibrox, the same certainly cannot be said of his Dens Park teammate.
According to reports, Rangers are leading the race to sign Lyall Cameron a pre-contract arrangement in the summer of 2025, a la the deal which brought Connor Barron to Glasgow from Aberdeen 12 months earlier.
Manager Tony Docherty did not exactly calm the supporter’s fears either. Cameron is considering his options at Dundee, Docherty says, with a contract extension feeling more and more unlikely for a footballer rapidly outgrowing a relatively small pond.
Tony Docherty confident Rangers links won’t distract Dundee ace Lyall Cameron
Providing an update on the Scotland Under-21 international a few days later, Docherty adds that, while Cameron has recovered from a ‘nasty illness’ which kept him out against top suitors Rangers, an announcement over a potential departure is still far from imminent.
“He is still a Dundee player. He is very much focused [on his current employers],” Docherty says ahead of the Scottish Cup meeting with arch rivals Dundee United this weekend.
“He is still a Dundee player, very much looking forward to a Dundee derby, and all the rest is speculation.”
The 53-year-old is also confident that Cameron – scorer of eight goals and provider of seven assists this term – will not allow those Rangers links to cloud his mind and distract from the task at hand.
“Lyall is a really level-headed young man and he has got brilliant representation as well,” Docherty adds. “So he has got the right people, the right support network round about him.
“But more than that, as an individual, I am so impressed with Lyall’s personality and the way he handles things. So absolutely no concern about that at all.”
Philippe Clement has praised Ibrox target cameron
By his own admission, Rangers boss Philippe Clement is a big fan of Lyall Cameron.
Clement describes the Dundee number ten as a ‘very good, creative midfielder’ with the ability to play the right passes at the right time in the final third.
And while not everyone is convinced he is ready for Ibrox – Gordon Dalziel thinks Mohamed Diomande is the superior talent with a move to Glasgow likely to resign Cameron to the bench – the more realistic members of the Dundee fanbase will just be focusing on enjoying their midfield dynamo for as long as they can.
“A couple [of our out-of-contract players] have come back and said they will sign and others are exploring their options. Lyall is in that [second] category,” Docherty sighed when those reports of Rangers’ interest first emerged.
“It is the business we are in.
“And it doesn’t surprise me that there is that amount of speculation about Lyall because he is an extremely talented young footballer.”
