Rangers transfer claim made surrounding talent handed a Man City chance by Pep Guardiola during summer

A Rangers transfer deal fell through for a Man City talent in the summer transfer window, it’s been claimed.

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has claimed 19-year-old Jadel Katongo was bound for Rangers before it collapsed. That allowed his side to swoop in and seal a deal on a season-long loan basis back for the player who spent last term at The Posh.

Katongo made his first appearance in a senior game for Pep Guardiola’s Man City in the summer, ironically in a friendly against Celtic. Rangers did make defensive moves this summer for the likes of Clinton Nsiala, Robin Propper and Jefte, but the Peterborough chief insists another move wasn’t to be.

MacAnthony explained on the Hard Truth: “I worked on the Jadel deal the day before in the UAE before deadline day. We wanted Jadel all summer but got told all summer he was going to the top of the Champ or potentially Scotland, I think it was Rangers he was potentially going to.

“We kept in with Man City and were trying to acquire a fourth centre half. None of the ones which were thrown at us or were on the table, none of us loved.

“There was nobody we wanted to buy yet so I said to the manager pretty much three weeks before the end of the window let’s sit on it until deadline day, and if we have to we will go and get one of the kids we have identified from the bigger Premier League clubs.

“But Scarfie [Peterborough assistant] got a call off Jadel the day before, saying the Scotland move was off and then Man City came on to us and said look let’s try and work something out. We had to pay a lot more than last year’s wages, but I approved the deal the night before [deadline day].”