Rangers are reportedly battling Ligue 1 AS Monaco in the hunt for Ecuadorian World Cup star and Royal Antwerp defender Willian Pacho.
That’s according to Belgian journalist Pieter-Jan Calcoen, who writes for newspaper Nieuwsblad in the country.
Calcoen is claiming that both Rangers and AS Monaco have scouted Willian Pacho extensively and would both now like to make a move for the player.
The suggestion is that Royal Antwerp want to maximise their returns on the 21-year-old centre-back, with Pacho signing a five-year contract with the club after joining from Ecuadorian outfit Independiente del Valle in January 2022.
The defender was part of the Ecuador World Cup squad in the winter tournament in Qatar but the youngster failed to make a single appearance at the tournament.
Rangers linked to Willian Pacho
An imposing 6ft2 presence, the links to Willian Pacho will likely excite Rangers and follow on from comments made by Michael Beale regarding the club’s interest in January signings after the 2-2 draw with Celtic.
“I definitely want to bring in players but they’ve got to be the right players,” said Beale.
“We need people to come in that will be big players for Rangers in the next two to three years.
“I want John Souttar fit, Ridvan (Yilmaz), Ianis Hagi, Tom Lawrence, Kemar Roofe and Antonio Colak, that will be a start.
“If we can add two or three more to it then we could have a second team as good as the first team that was out there today, then it’s game on inside the building. You have to earn your shirt.
“I think the last few weeks people have played regardless. None of you know whether I fancy these players or not because they are the players I’ve got.
“They’ve gone and got the results up until today, they were three minutes away from getting a good performance and I think that should maybe move people’s minds a bit.”
Willian Pacho has played 24 games for Royal Antwerp this season and Rangers fans will be watching the player’s situation closely this January.
Meanwhile, there are major doubts surrounding a deal for another Ibrox star as a clip emerges from the Celtic draw.
