Marseille have set Verona an ultimatum of TODAY to agree a deal for Josh Doig in a transfer which could have huge transfer ramifications for Rangers.
The Ligue 1 side have reportedly agreed personal terms of a €5m (£4.3m) move for Scottish left-back Doig, 21, who has spent the last 18 months in Serie A.
With current club Verona also strongly linked with a move for Rangers left-back Ridvan Yilmaz as a replacement, it’s a move which could kickstart a succession of transfers.
But the latest reporting surrounding a potential Josh Doig switch to Marseille suggests the move could be off by midnight unless Verona green light the transfer.
Marseille set Josh Doig ultimatum
According to Fabrizio Romano, Marseille have warned Verona they will “move on another target” if a Josh Doig deal cannot be struck by the close of play today.
Marseille meanwhile are clearly not messing around and have warned Verona that if a deal cannot be struck today then they will move onto another target.
Verona are said to be urging Doig to instead move to Sassuolo – despite claims the ex-Hibs star wants to move to Ligue 1 – because their Serie A rivals are willing to pay up to €6m (£5.1m).
The Ligue 1 side are closing to banking €20m (£17m) from the sale of Renan Lodi to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal with Romano also claiming that deal is almost complete.
Rangers left-back transfer pursuit impacted
The impact on Rangers should any Josh Doig to Marseille deal collapse is two-fold.
First, Verona are seemingly waiting to sign Ridvan Yilmaz to replace the young Scottish left-back with Rangers manager Philippe Clement very coy on the player’s situation this weekend.
Unless Verona could go on to sell Josh Doig to Sassuolo – no guarantee given the player apparently wants to move to Marseille – then that Rangers move could collapse.
Secondly, Marseille have also been linked to Benfica’s Czech international left-back David Jurasek, who is apparently interesting Rangers as a Ridvan Yilmaz replacement.
With Benfica closing in on a deal for Alvaro Fernandez from Manchester United, it’s looking increasingly likely the £12m former Slavia Prague star will be heading out of the Estadio de Luz in January.
Both Rangers and Marseille have been named as potential suitors in the Portuguese media although there are believed to be several interested parties.
If a deal for Josh Doig collapses, theoretically Marseille could turn their attentions to David Jurasek, Rangers could lose Ridvan Yilmaz to Verona anyway, and suddenly the Ibrox side are a left-back down.
It’s all likely to come to a head soon but we suspect there are going to be a few more twists and turns in all this just yet.
