Russell Martin is now leading Glasgow Rangers’ pursuit to bring a “class” £18 million midfielder to Ibrox with Joe Rothwell, according to a recent report.
Rangers chasing multiple Ibrox targets as they close in on Rothwell
The Gers have already added Max Aarons to their squad since the appointment of Martin, but as the Scottish side don’t have long to wait until they return to competitive action, the club are working on multiple transfers to try and get their business done as early as possible.
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The next arrival at Ibrox is Joe Rothwell, who has joined Rangers on a permanent basis after both the Scottish side and AFC Bournemouth agreed a transfer fee. The 30-year-old has worked with Martin before at Southampton in the 2023/24 season, and his relationship with the now Rangers boss seems to have swung him to favour a move to Scotland, as he also had offers from teams in La Liga.
As well as moving for Rothwell, the Gers are also looking to sign not one but two more new midfielders. Current Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin is being linked with a move away, as several Premier League teams are interested in a potential deal.
Therefore, Rangers are looking at players who could replace him, and according to The Scottish Sun, the Gers are chasing a permanent deal for Metinho and are ready to ramp up their efforts to get a deal completed.
Martin leading Rangers move to sign £18m midfielder with Rothwell
As well as Metinho, according to TEAMtalk, Rangers are in talks with Southampton over a deal to sign Flynn Downes.
The report states that Martin is keen to reunite with the player once again after signing him in the summer of 2023 from West Ham United in a deal that was worth £18 million for Southampton, and before that, Martin worked with Downes during his time as Swansea City manager. It doesn’t state what type of deal Rangers are looking to do, as the midfielder is still under contract at St Mary’s until the summer of 2028.
The 26-year-old, who has been dubbed “class” by Dan Woffenden, has been a regular in the Southampton team in the two seasons at the club. In their promotion-winning campaign, Downes played 33 times in the regular season, as well as a further three games in the play-offs. Last season, Downes started 25 of the 27 Premier League games he featured in.
During his time at Swansea, Martin labelled Downes “incredible” and a player who does the “dirty work perfectly well”. Martin said: “Flynn was incredible; it’s difficult to single people out, but he does the dirty work perfectly well. He enables other people to do their roles brilliantly; he knows exactly what his role in the team is.”
