Boss admits 'difficult' to picture Rangers and Derby target at club next season but top dollar demand made
The defender has also attracted interest from the EFL Championship and abroad
Rangers will have to put their hands deeply in their pockets if they want to acquire Dundee defender Luke Graham according to manager Steven Pressley.
The 22-year old is being monitored by the likes of Derby County, Norwich City, Portsmouth and Stoke City among others as Pressley admits Dundee are going to find it ‘difficult’ to hold onto their centre back next season. Rangers were in for Graham in January to no avail but are now ramping up their pursuit ahead of a summer rebuild. Pompey had a bid rejected for £1m, but the Scotland U21s international is reportedly now worth up to twice that.
A mobile defender whose comfortable with the ball at his feet, Graham made 36 appearances for the Dark Blues last season, helping them finish eighth place in the standings after a ropey start. With the constant outside noise from the UK and beyond surrounding his future, Pressley isn’t overly hopeful his defender will be a Dundee player next season, but also says he won’t be away unless the club’s ‘valuation’ is met.
‘Valuation’ must be met for sought after star
He said via the Sun: "There's a lot of interest in Luke from here, England and abroad. It's difficult to see him here next season with the amount of clubs interested. But we're in no rush to sell. I understand if we get to the valuation we will sell, I know that. The big thing is, for clubs like us to function properly, there needs to be good outcomes in terms of the fee.”
Pressley manager Everton superstar Jarrod Branthwaite during his short spell at Carlisle United in 2019. The defender has subsequently been linked with a move away from Merseyside for 10 figures - which United would see some of due to a sell-on clause. Pressley is keen to ensure that if Graham ever got a big money move, Dundee would also receive a windfall.
Dundee to negotiate sell-on clause for Graham
He continued: "It's not just the fee, there's the sell-on as well because what you can receive is very important these days. I brought Jarrad Branthwaite through at Carlisle and when he was supposed to go to Manchester United, it was going to generate about £7m for them at the time, so that has to be a consideration. Of course you want to demand as high a fee as possible, but it's beneficial to look beyond that. Luke has the capabilities to be a centre-back in the English Premier League down the line. But if he is still here in August, I'd be very happy.”
Dundee held onto Graham in January as they were in the midst of a relegation battle. As they now prepare for the summer after comfortably securing safety, Pressley was also keen to reinstate that their position hasn’t changed. He added: “In January we didn't want to sell Luke because I'd seen before what can happen. We wanted to reinforce in that window rather than take the risk."
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