Arsenal 'tracking' in-demand Rangers star with expected big-money transfer exits 'out of Derek McInnes control'
Towering Ibrox centre-back has been tipped to make the step up to the reigning Premier League champions
Rangers defender Emmanuel Fernandez has been told he could be ready for making “a heck of a step up” to Arsenal this summer after the Premier League giants became the latest club to monitor the towering centre-back.
Fernandez was part of a major recruitment drive last summer when he arrived in Govan from Peterborough United in a deal worth around £3.5m. Following a slow start, the 24-year-old gradually began to find his feet and ended his maiden campaign in strong fashion to fuel speculation about his long-term future.
Now, according to former Gunners' legend Alan Smith, Fernandez- who is already being tracked by Stade Rennes, Feyenoord, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund would be an ideal signing for the reigning English champions.
Speaking to BestBettingSites.co.uk, Smith admits: “That keeps popping up. Maybe they've had a good look at him, the analytics and all the rest of it, seen his figures.
“He's had a really topsy-turvy career. He's been all over the place, non-league, hasn't he? And it's only in the last year or so that he's come into what you would call, well, obviously, a very big football club in Rangers. And clearly, he's done well.
“He's 24 now. So after that checkered start to his football career, maybe he's ready, but a heck of a step up to go to a club like Arsenal.”
Fernandez has already made it clear he is in no rush to leave Ibrox this summer, but the Londoner is not the only first-team player attracting strong attention this summer, with midfield pair Connor Barron and Nico Raskin expected to join John Souttar and Danilo in departing the club.
Should that be the case, former Rangers' striker Charlie Miller reckons some of the big money offers will see decisions over players taken out of Derek McInnes' hands.
He told the Sunday Post: “Boys will leave. There is interest in four or five of the lads and a few will be moved on. One or two could go for really big money. So, we will see how that all shapes up between now and the transfer window closing at the start of September.
“Derek can't control that kind of thing, but he is in charge of what happens on the field and he will be hard but fair on the squad. He will put demands on them and the players need to show they have all the attributes to deliver success.”