22 May 2006

PAUL LE GUEN has put Hibs on another Old Firm red alert by admitting he has urged Rangers chairman David Murray to pursue the best talent in Scotland.

The Frenchman, who once again confirmed he won't flood Ibrox with his countrymen, is finalising his signing targets with Murray and club chief executive Martin Bain.

SportTimes understands Hibs trio Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker are all under consideration from the Ibrox hierarchy.
Concrete moves may depend on which of Le Guen's priority targets are delivered by Murray and Bain.

But the Rangers boss clearly wants his club to match champions Celtic's recent policy of cherry-picking the best homegrown talent in the land.

Le Guen said: "There are lots of foreign players in Scotland, but we have good Scottish players at Rangers and I do think it's important to keep your identity. Source - EveningTimes

26 December 2005

Rangers may be about to launch a bid to prise his team-mate Scott Brown from Easter Road.The talented midfielder trained with the Ibrox side as a youngster but failed to make the grade and joined Hibs instead where he worked alongside Alex McLeish, the current Rangers manager.

McLeish remains a fan of Brown's, who won his first Scotland cap last month and has matured into a fine footballer. Having already sign Kris Boyd from Kilmarnock, the Ibrox manager is keen to strengthen further his squad as he plays catch-up in the SPL and bids to negotiate a way past Villarreal in the Champions League. Brown, 20, has two-and-a-half years left on his contract and it would take sizeable offer to persuade the Hibs board to sell, should the player wish to leave. The Easter Road club will not welcome the interest of Rangers nor appreciate reports linking Sheffield Wednesday with a £200,000 approach for Derek Riordan. Source - The Scotsman

24 December 2005

Rangers will make an offer for Hibs midfielder Scott Brown in the January transfer window, BBC Scotland believes. The 20-year-old has been an integral part of the Easter Road side that has performed so well over the last 18 months under Tony Mowbray.

He has two-and-a-half years left on his contract and it is understood it would require an offer of at least £1m to tempt Hibs to sell him. Source - BBC Sport