Inside Rangers mission for €35m Liverpool ace as man in know reveals Gerrard & co's 'desperate' transfer wish

Former Rangers assistant Gary McAllister has revealed how the Ibrox club tried to sign current Liverpool star Curtis Jones during the summer of 2019.

The former England Under-21 international was a rising star at Anfield when he was linked with a move to Glasgow six years ago after making his first-team breakthrough earlier that season. He had featured prominently for the Reds during pre-season and was praised by then-boss Jurgen Klopp for his mobility and dribbling skills.

Jones - who joined the Liverpool academy in 2010 - is now a key figure in newly-appointed head coach Arne Slot’s side, racking up 134 appearances for the club to date. And Steven Gerrard’s former No.2 has confirmed the €35m-rated midfielder as per Transfermarkt was high on the Gers recruitment agenda.

The 23-year-old ended up staying on Merseyside but McAllister has spoken about how things could have been so different after disclosing they were ‘desperately’ trying to recruit Jones, amid reports that current manager Philippe Clement is hunting to find a replacement for departed midfield duo John Lundstram and Ryan Jack.

Speaking to LFC TV, he said: “We did our best to try to get (Jones) up the road. Obviously, Steven had worked with him and all the guys at Rangers were desperate to get him but he was unavailable.

“The debate is whether he is a No.6, No.6 or No.10. I think if he can show he's got the ability to sit in front of the centre-halves, that's good. If you can run forward and get yourself in the box and score goals, that's good. Players as a 10 when you're getting into little pockets on the half-turn, which I think he did most of his younger career.”

Rangers have looked to exploit the English Premier League loan market in the modern era as they bid to unearth hidden talent, having recruited the likes of Phil Bardsley from Manchester United and Kyle Bartley during his time at Arsenal over a decade ago. Gerrard wasted no time early in his Ibrox reign in snapping up the likes of Ryan Kent and Ovie Ejaria from old club Liverpool in recent years.

More recently, the Govan side signed Abdallah Sima on a season-long loan deal from Brighton & Hove Albion, with Clement keen to bring the Senegalese attacker back to Glasgow on a permanent basis.