Luuk de Jong, Conor Coady: Rangers dressing room update
Rangers plan to bolster the level of big-game experience in their dressing room with the signings of Luuk de Jong and Conor Coady, sources have told Football Insider.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, senior correspondent Pete O’Rourke revealed what his sources have said about Rangers’ pursuit of the two veteran internationals.
Russell Martin is steadly rebuilding the Gers squad he’s inherited at Ibrox with eight new signings so far, and 30-year-old midfielder Joe Rothwell is the outlier as the only permanent addition over the age of 23.
With senior figures like James Tavernier and Robin Propper touted for the exit door at Ibrox this summer, sources have told Football Insider that De Jong and Coady would both “tick a lot of boxes” for Rangers.
Football Insider revealed on Friday that Martin was seriously considering signing Dutch international De Jong after he failed to agree a new deal at PSV, while Coady has been a long-term target for the Gers.
Sources have told Football Insider that Coady and De Jong would immediately become huge figures in the dressing room at Ibrox, and Rangers are ready to step up their interest in both players as a result.
Rangers rebuild continues as Martin looks to add experience
Football Insider revealed last month that Leicester will be open to offers for Coady this summer as he enters the final year of his contract, giving Rangers encouragement that a deal is there to be done.
Speaking on the new Inside Track, O’Rourke said that if Rangers do push the button on a deal to sign De Jong, Coady could soon follow as Martin looks to bolster his options at both ends of the pitch.
“[De Jong] could definitely come in and do a job for Rangers if they were to pursue a move for him”, he told Football Insider.
“I think he could be very good for Rangers – not just good on the pitch, I think he’d be very good in that dressing room as well.
“As a stop-gap signing, he would tick a lot of boxes, and obviously we’ve seen they’ve been linked with Conor Coady again.
“[Coady is in a] similar situation to De Jong, coming to the twilight years of his career – they could definitely both do a job for Rangers and would improve them.”
Coady, De Jong transfers to trigger series of Rangers exits
Rangers have no shortage of central defenders after the additions of Emmanuel Fernandez and Wolves loanee Nasser Djiga this summer, but Propper, Ben Davies, and Clinton Nsiala are all expected to depart.
If a deal can be struck with Leicester for “the next Terry Butcher” in the coming weeks, Coady’s arrival would see the aforementioned trio fall even further behind John Souttar in the pecking order at Ibrox.
Star striker Hamza Igamane is a player Rangers would much rather not lose by comparison, but De Jong could plug the gap left by the Moroccan and provide much-needed experience of the very highest level.