Rangers reported shock hunt for league leading enforcer gives huge hint about Sean Goss future
COMMENT
Rangers are reportedly in the hunt to sign Sydney FC enforcer Brandon O'Neill - but that could be a huge hint that Mark Allen is not confident about being able to secure Sean Goss on a permanent deal from QPR.
Australian newspaper Canberra Times reported on their website that the Light Blues are monitoring O'Neill, 23, and are eyeing up a move for him in the summer ahead of the 2018/19 season.
The Australia Under-23 international has been in top form at Sydney FC this season and his club currently leads the Australian A-League and look like a shoe-in to win the title.
The report says that it is a bit of a shock for Rangers to be eyeing up O'Neill as he holds a Republic of Ireland passport and due to the pro-unionism at Ibrox, it may not be a very popular move among the supporters, who have only seen a handful of Irish players sign for the Gers in modern times.
O'Neill is a sold defensive midfielder and may well be a good signing for Rangers, but it does suggest that plans are being made for life without QPR loanee Goss.
Most of Rangers' loan signings in January have option-to-buy clauses in their deals but Goss, 22, does not and QPR manager Ian Holloway has hit out at Graeme Murty for saying he would like to sign him in the summer.
There may be many contingency plans for the summer with Goss likely to leave and if they were to sign O'Neill, there's no doubt that he would be compared to the former Manchester United midfielder.