Ligue 1 Toulouse have turned down an €18m (£15m) bid from Brentford for once Rangers-linked striker Thijs Dallinga.
Gers fans will remember strong links to the Dutch hitman back in the summer of 2022, Dallinga just off the back of a 36-goal season in the Eerste Divisie with Excelsior.
Opting instead to move to Toulouse – whilst Rangers moved for Antonio Colak – it’s been an impressive 18 months for the now 23-year-old in France.
Now, after scoring to help down Liverpool in the Europa League earlier in the season, the Premier League is calling with Thijs Dallinga reportedly subject to a bid from Brentford.
Thijs Dallinga to Brentford?
According to L’Equipe – one of French football’s foremost journalistic authorities – the Bees have had the €18m (£15.3m) transfer bid thrown out by Toulouse.
This comes amid news the French club also rejected a €20m (£17m) offer from an unnamed club in the summer after Thijs Dallinga banged in 18 goals in his first season at the club.
The report claims that Brentford will have to stump up if they want to sign the talented hitman, with Toulouse set to demand up to €40m (£34.2m) for the striker.
Given the sounds around returning Brentford striker Ivan Toney – who came even closer than Thijs Dallinga to joining Rangers – and a switch to one of the Premier League’s top clubs, it’s a fee they might be able to afford.
Reports have suggested Thomas Frank’s side want £100m for the England international striker, whose just spent eight months out of the game for betting offences.
Rangers player trading transfer model tested
At this stage Rangers fans are pretty sick of hearing about ones that got away over the last few seasons.
Whilst it’s not clear how close, if at all, Thijs Dallinga came to joining the ranks at Ibrox, it’s €2.5m (£2.1m) well spent for Toulouse who will eventually bank big on the Dutch prospect.
It’ll have Rangers fans thinking of the likes of Joey Veerman, another heavily Ibrox-linked player, whose form at PSV is also pointing him towards the bright lights of the English top flight.
Rangers know they have to fix the situation with John Bennett insisting improved player trading is a “priority” at the club going forward.
It’s not like the club hasn’t spent money to improve the squad, but it just hasn’t always been spent well. See Jose Cifuentes and Sam Lammers.
Director of Recruitment Nils Koppen, manager Philippe Clement, and the newly established recruitment board will work together to identify targets and bring them in before they become financially out of our reach.
It’s already happening with the £4.3m signing of Mohamed Diomande but Rangers cannot stop there.
Closing the financial gap with Celtic depends on it.
