Rangers Transfer News: Hjerto-Dahl Pursuit Intensifies Amid Exits
Rangers will walk out at Tannadice on Friday with a new manager, a new captain and seven fresh faces in the squad. The rebuild under Derek McInnes is already aggressive. It’s nowhere near finished.
With Europa League qualifiers on the horizon and a bloated wage bill still hanging over Ibrox, this is a window being fought on two fronts: spend to compete, sell to survive. The next few weeks will define what kind of Rangers side emerges under McInnes.
And right at the centre of it all sits a 20-year-old playmaker from Norway.
Hjerto-Dahl tug of war
Jens Hjerto-Dahl has become the name on every Rangers fan’s lips. The Tromso midfielder has been on the club’s radar for months, and a £5.4m bid has already been kicked out by the Eliteserien club.
Hjerto-Dahl has admitted he is “tempted” by the prospect of pulling on a Rangers shirt. Tempted, but not short of options.
Cardiff City have gone far heavier, launching an offer close to £8m. Hull City, freshly promoted to the Premier League, are also now credited with serious interest, according to reports in Norway. Tromso’s transfer chief Lars Petter Kræmer-Andressen insists there have been no fresh formal approaches, and the player remains with the squad for their Conference League qualifier against Hradec Kralove on Thursday.
Rangers have already added Ross McCrorie and Cammy Devlin to the engine room. Yet Hjerto-Dahl is the statement signing the support crave. Whether the Ibrox board can live with a bidding war in this market is another matter entirely.
Makhanya move nears completion
One deal is far closer to the line. South Africa defender Olwethu Makhanya is on the brink of becoming signing number eight.
McInnes has already confirmed the 22-year-old could be registered in time for the Premiership opener at Dundee United. The centre-back has forced the issue at club level, going AWOL from Philadelphia Union after a move to the Belgian Pro League was blocked.
Rangers have stepped into that stand-off with a package worth around £3.3m. Makhanya, part of the Bafana Bafana squad at the World Cup without making an appearance, now looks set to relaunch his club career in Glasgow. For McInnes, it’s another athletic defender to plug into a back line that will be asked to play higher and more aggressively.
Antman exit to fund wide reshuffle
On the flanks, change is coming fast. Oliver Antman arrived with promise from Go Ahead Eagles but never truly took off at Ibrox last season. A bright start faded, and under McInnes his stock has slipped further.
Rangers are now ready to cash in. Anderlecht are driving hardest, with talks over a deal in excess of £4m. Derby County and FC Twente are also in the frame, but the Belgian side are pushing to get it done.
Selling Antman would leave Rangers even lighter in natural wingers. It would also hand McInnes room to reshape the wide areas in his own image.
Markelo targeted as fresh wide option
One of those potential replacements is Jahnoah Markelo. The Coventry City wide man is high on the list for a season-long loan.
Rangers scouts were impressed by his performances for FC Zurich, which earned him a £4.3m switch to Coventry a year ago. Since then, his progress has stalled. Markelo featured just six times as Frank Lampard led the Sky Blues back into the Premier League for the first time in 25 years.
For Rangers, that profile is attractive: talented, underused, and available on terms that won’t blow apart the wage structure. If Antman goes, expect movement here to accelerate.
Souttar squeezed by Godfrey arrival
At centre-back, the arrival of Ben Godfrey has real consequences. The England international has joined on loan from Atalanta, and his presence immediately shunts John Souttar down the pecking order.
Souttar only signed a new deal earlier this year to keep him at Ibrox for the coming season. Now his future is under serious review. Interest from England is growing, with Leicester City, Sheffield United and Swansea City all circling.
At 28, with minutes potentially limited and a defence being rebuilt around new pieces, a sale would make sense financially and structurally. The question is whether McInnes is ready to lose an experienced Scotland international in the same window he is trying to bed in a new defensive unit.
McCausland looks abroad
Ross McCausland is also edging towards the exit door, and his gaze is fixed firmly overseas.
The winger enjoyed a stint at Aris in Cyprus last season and is open to another move abroad. There is early interest from clubs across Europe and from MLS. Rangers are prepared to listen, but only if someone meets their valuation.
League One sides in England have already made enquiries, yet McCausland has no appetite for that level. Luton Town sounded out a deal but admitted they cannot pay a fee or come close to his current wages, effectively ruling themselves out. Bigger clubs in the same division have made contact, but the player’s preference and the financial reality point towards a move back to the continent.
For now, he trains on and has impressed McInnes in pre-season. With just a year left on his contract, though, this is heading towards a decision that suits both parties.
Cozier-Duberry on the radar – at a price
The search for wide quality has also taken Rangers back to a familiar name: Amario Cozier-Duberry.
The Brighton winger, formerly of Arsenal, shone on loan at Bolton last season, playing his part in their promotion to the Championship. Rangers have monitored him closely and remain interested.
The problem is cost. Brighton value the 21-year-old at around £5m and believe his ceiling is high. That kind of fee would require serious outgoings first, and a clear conviction inside Ibrox that Cozier-Duberry would be a long-term pillar of the attack rather than a short-term fix.
Mendy shows what might have been
One that got away is now attracting Premier League money. Nobel Mendy, the Senegal full-back once on Rangers’ radar before he left Real Betis for Rayo Vallecano, is the subject of a bid from Hull City.
Reports in Spain suggest the Tigers have tabled an offer in the region of £15.4m for the 21-year-old. For Rangers, it’s a reminder of how quickly a target can move out of reach once they establish themselves in a top European league.
As the window edges towards its final month, McInnes and the Ibrox hierarchy are juggling bids, interest and deadlines on all sides. The squad that walks out on Friday will not be the one that finishes this window.
The only question now is whether Rangers emerge with a group built to chase titles, or one still chasing the market.
