Rangers and Celtic accept defeat in transfer pursuit of long-standing target as £6.5m deal struck with medical booked
Both Glasgow clubs were credited with an interest in the BK Hacken midfielder during the January transfer window
Rangers and Celtic have been forced to shelve their hopes of landing BK Hacken starlet Silas Andersen - with the defensive midfielder set to finalise a move to Portugal.
Both Glasgow clubs were linked with a January swoop for the Danish youth international and have been keeping tabs on the 21-year-old’s progress in recent months.
However, in-demand Andersen looks to have decided on his next destination with Scandinavian outlet Tipsbladet claiming his Swedish club have agreed an initial £6.4m deal with Sporting Lisbon to sell one of their prized assets, with a further £2.5m fee due to be paid in add-ons.
It’s stated that Andersen will fly out to Lisbon for a medical on Saturday before putting pen to paper on a five-year contract with this season’s Champions League quarter-finalists.
The development will come as a major blow to Rangers, in particular, as they seek to bolster their options in the middle of the park. It’s understood the player had been recommended to the Govan outfit by their Norwegian advisor Stig Inge Bjornebye.
It follows recent comments from Hacken’s sporting director Erik Friberg confessing they couldn’t guarantee that Andersen would depart the club this summer. “We will sell someone,” he confirmed. “We will. I can’t promise that Silas will stay. Nothing is clear yet, we’ll see where it goes.”
Sporting had submitted an offer in the region of £6m for Andersen a fortnight ago and following a lengthy period of negotiations, both parties appear to have shaken hands on a fee. There is also believed to be a sell-on clause included in the agreement, which will ensure Hacken receive a percentage of any future profit the Primeira Liga heavyweights make on him.
Rangers faced uphill battle in pursuit of Andersen
Andersen’s agent, Niclas Jensen mentioned last month that “big clubs” in Portugal and Germany had displayed a strong interest in his client, ensure the player had several intriguing options to consider.
Rangers were always going to face an uphill battle to secure Andersen’s services and must now divert their focus on to more attainable transfer targets.
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