Blackpool manager Neil Critchley hopes to retain the services of striker Jerry Yates amid interest from Scottish Premiership giants Rangers.
Late last year, reports from The Sun’s Alan Nixon suggested that The Tangerines wanted up to £5 million for the late-blooming, one-time Swindon Town forward.
But following Blackpool’s relegation – heading back to League One after two seasons in the Championship – how much will Jerry Yates really cost. Should Rangers step up their interest, West Brom, Bristol City and newly-promoted Ipswich Town also in the mix, Critchley’s side will not exactly be negotiating from a position of strength.
Having scored 15 goals while setting up six more even as his side finished in the Championship’s bottom three in 2022/23, one suspects Yates will not have much of an appetite for third-tier football.
Especially with Rangers offering European football and a shot at silverware.
Will Rangers sign Blackpool striker Jerry Yates?
“First and foremost, he’s a brilliant person, a great individual. He brings so much energy to the training ground and onto the pitch. He’s proven to be a huge success,” Critchley, who signed Yates during his first spell at Bloomfield Road and returned last week, tells the Blackpool Gazette.
“As always, when people do well, they’ll have suitors from people above you. But without speaking to Jerry and knowing his thoughts – he’s under contract as well – it would be wrong of me to discuss any individual at this moment in time.
“You want your best players and Jerry is definitely one of them. But you also want players who want to be here as well. Until I have these conversations, I don’t know yet (whether he will stay). So that’s obviously something for us to think about and discuss in the next few weeks.”
According to Nixon, Rangers’ scout John Brown watched Yates on a number of occasions before Blackpool’s relegation was confirmed.
The hard-working 26-year-old is one of a number of centre-forwards linked with a Gers side who recently confirmed the departure of Alfredo Morelos.
