Rangers could swoop for striker previously linked with Celtic as £10m transfer fee touted
Latest Rangers transfer news as Derek McInnes could look to bring his star Hearts player with him when he completes his move to Ibrox.
Hearts manager Derek McInnes is expected to be named the new Rangers head coach this week following Dany Rohl’s move to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria.
Things have moved fast with the former Sheffield Wednesday boss leaving Glasgow and the Ibrox hierarchy acting rapidly to agree a compensation package with their Scottish Premiership rivals. Once the former Aberdeen and St Johnstone gaffer is in the door the club can get to work building his first team squad for the upcoming season.
With Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland having already signed for the Gers from Hearts he will be reunited with his former Tynecastle boss a lot sooner than he might have expected. It may also be possible that he’s not the only familiar face making the switch according to recent reports.
Rangers could move for second Hearts striker as £8m-£10m figure touted amid Celtic interest
According to FootballFanCast, once Derek McInnes has completed his move to Rangers one of the first things he could look to do is bring Hearts striker Claudio Braga with him. The Portuguese centre forward had a breakthrough season in the Scottish Premiership last campaign, scoring 14 league goals.
He and Shankland formed an impressive partnership that combined for a total of 30 Scottish Premiership goals but reuniting the pair won’t come cheap by the looks of things. The 26-year old only singed for the Jambos last summer from Norwegian outfit Aalesund and still has two years remaining on his three year contract.
Braga is a player that Hearts will be willing to move on as part of their trading model but, after such an impressive debut season, they are expecting a significant profit on their investment. The Edinburgh club are understood to have paid in the region of £400,000 to £500,000 for his services last summer and could potentially look for a 300 percent increase on that fee.
It is claimed in the initial report that the Jambos are holding out for a fee between £8 million and £10 million for the striker. It comes after they also reportedly knocked back interest in £5 million bids for his services back in January.
Celtic previously linked with Hearts striker Braga but Rangers could orchestrate McInnes reunion
Celtic have also been linked with a move for Braga but that does appeared to have cooled off in recent months. They were one of a few clubs who had their names mentioned when the January transfer window interest on Braga was being reported.
If the centre forward was to leave Hearts for another Scottish Premiership club then Rangers would be the more obvious destination where he could link up with his former boss Derek McInnes and strike partner Lawrence Shankland. However, the transfer fee mentioned could prove a significant stumbling block.
The Ibrox club are no strangers to snapping up talent from SPFL rivals but genially, in recent years, have gone down the road of picking them up cheaper or on free transfer when their contracts expire. A fee of £10 million would represent a huge investment on their part while also giving Hearts, a team who finished above them last time out, their own war chest to go out and reinvest in their own first team.
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