Rangers fancy signing Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Dion Sanderson but can expect summer competition from Birmingham City.
Gers fans would be forgiven for shuddering at the mere sound of the name John Eustace.
Supporters will remember Mark Warburton trying to sign Eustace in 2015, with the veteran midfielder linking up with Rangers ahead of a move.
That situation seemed to drag on and on and on, becoming a rather curious case at Ibrox before retiring through injury.
Now manager of Birmingham City, Eustace could be involved in a new Rangers transfer saga.
The Scottish Sun reported in January that Rangers had identified Sanderson as a potential target.
The Wolves defender is currently on loan at Birmingham and Eustace has shared his stance on Sanderson’s future.
Speaking to the Birmingham Mail, Eustace has hailed Sanderson as ‘fantastic’ and a ‘true leader’.
Eustace admitted that Birmingham will be trying to keep Sanderson at the end of the season, meaning they may be involved in a fight with Rangers.
“Dion has been a fantastic player for us this season,” said Eustace. “He is a true leader, seeing his development last season from when I was at QPR to now is fantastic. I knew that he had got that in his locker – that’s why we brought him in at the start of the season.
“He is a player we want to keep and to lose him now until the end of the season is a massive blow to us. However, it gives somebody else the opportunity now to step up and lead by example. I am pretty sure he is going to be out for a large part of the remainder of the season. Absolutely I want the club to look at signing him. It’s an injury but he is a young player who has had a fantastic season up to now. I think he has proved his worth, the fans love him to bits, like we all do here at the football club,” he added.
Dion Sanderson can provide great versatility for Rangers
Sanderson, 23, has come up through the Wolves ranks but is yet to even make a single league appearance for the club.
Loans to Cardiff City, Sunderland, Birmingham City (twice) and Queens Park Rangers haven’t taken him any closer to first-team action at Molineux.
By the middle of next season, Sanderson will be 24 and he needs to be thinking about settling down.
Rangers could offer that to Sanderson and his versatility will surely appeal to Michael Beale.
Sanderson can play as a right back or centre back in a four-man defence, whilst he looks perfect as a right-sided centre back in a three-man back line.
Given that Ben Davies would be perfect on the left of a three, Sanderson would give Beale some tactical flexibility.
Whilst he may not be the swashbuckling attacking threat that James Tavernier is, Sanderson is more than comfortable in that area and can offer real cover for the Rangers captain.
A deal for Sanderson won’t be cheap, but if it comes down to Rangers or Birmingham, he would surely prefer to join Beale and co at Ibrox.
