Danny Rohl reputation to haunt Rangers in Luke Graham transfer race
Danny Rohl hasn’t shown much faith in youngsters at Rangers since being appointed at Ibrox in October.
According to The News on 26 May, Portsmouth have moved ahead of the Gers in the race for Dundee centre-back Luke Graham ahead of the upcoming transfer window.
The news outlet reports that John Mousinho’s work in developing young talent at Pompey holds an appeal for the Scottish defender.
Sources told Football Insider on 24 May that the Glaswegian outfit would need to beat the EFL Championship outfit to sign Graham, but it may take more than a significantly larger offer to convince the 22-year-old to move to Govan.
Rohl is expected to be backed at Ibrox in the summer, but understandably, players with potential will have doubts about working under the German manager after his misjudgement with Findlay Curtis.
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While Rohl is working with an array of young talent at the Gers, it’s hard to argue that anyone apart from Mikey Moore really lived up to the expectations in the 2025-26 season.
The former Sheffield Wednesday boss also seemed reluctant to give Crutis opportunities at the Light Blues, effectively replacing him with Andreas Skov Olsen in the winter transfer window.
| Statistics | Luke Graham |
| Appearances | 36 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Clean sheets | 6 |
| Interceptions per game | 1.3 |
| Tackles per game | 1.4 |
| Balls recovered per game | 3.9 |
| Clearances per game | 6.5 |
| Ground duels won per game | 3.2 (62%) |
| Aerial duels won per game | 4.5 (70%) |
Youssef Chermiti has also shown glimpses of his talent under the 37-year-old head coach, but the Portuguese striker’s inconsistency has been on full display.
The Glaswegian outfit’s Scottish contingent, like John Souttar and Connor Barron, have also struggled for minutes under Rohl, suggesting a possible bias against them.
Andrew Cavanagh has promised to prioritise the addition of homegrown talent at Ibrox, but it remains to be seen whether working under the German manager will be an enticing prospect for them.
Ibrox hierarchy have clear transfer priority for Danny Rohl
Missing out on Graham would be a massive blow for Rangers, who have a lack of defensive options going into the 2026-27 campaign.
Souttar and Emmanuel Fernandez are the only two natural centre-back options at Rohl’s disposal as Nasser Djiga and Derek Cornelius look set to return to their parent clubs.
The Gers arguably need multiple defensive additions in the summer and the recruitment department clearly have a lot on their plate in G51.
Graham seems to be the Glaswegian outfit’s top target, but only time will tell whether they can get a deal over the line for him.
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