Rangers want to sign £3.5m international after Celtic have offer rejected

Glasgow Rangers are looking to bring in some more new faces at Ibrox before the transfer window ends so that they may start to bridge the early gap that Celtic have built in the Scottish Premiership title race.

After the first two games of the season, Rangers sit in mid-table on two points, whereas Celtic top the table with six points following back-to-back wins in their opening fixtures. While Russell Martin’s side have had a strong start in their campaign for European qualification, it’s the league where they’ll be most heavily judged, and new signings might help rectify their current trajectory.

Oscar Cortes has been Rangers’ most expensive signing so far this window, but after loan spells with the club, he’s yet to be seen much in the league since being made permanent, only featuring in an eight-minute cameo against Motherwell.

Rangers’ second-biggest signing has been Oliver Antman from Go Ahead Eagles. He not only served as a fine addition to the squad but also a barrier in Celtic’s pursuit of Jakob Breum. The Dutch side reportedly no longer had to sell Breum due to the money they received for Antman, so the signing accidentally dealt a blow to their biggest rivals. Martin’s side are now looking to line up another deal that would see them take one of Celtic’s main transfer targets.

Rangers want to beat Celtic to Irving

Reports from The Scotsman have indicated that Rangers are considering a bid for West Ham midfielder Andy Irving. Celtic had placed a bid worth up to £2.25 million for Irving, but it was rejected, with West Ham wanting £3.5 million for the midfielder.

Irving has been at West Ham since 2023, but Rangers could soon offer him the chance to return to Scotland and get more first-team minutes ahead of the World Cup. Irving received his Scotland cap in June in a friendly against Liechtenstein, and the player will be hoping to add to these appearances during the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Despite only receiving 162 minutes of Premier League football last season, Irving is a widely desired player and can play in a defensive, central or attacking midfield role. Even if Celtic have been put off by their failed bid, Rangers will still have to compete with teams from Germany, Italy and Austria to get his signature.

Why so many teams want to sign Irving

Nicknamed “The Portobello Pirlo” at the Hearts academy, Irving hasn’t received many chances in the first team during his time at the London Stadium. However, his time in Austria has shown the levels he is capable of.

While the Austrian league is something of an unknown quantity to many British fans, it is actually ranked higher in the Global Football Rankings than the Scottish Premiership.

During his last season on loan in Austria, Irving’s versatility was on full display. The table below demonstrates what percentile of similar players Irving fell into for various metrics during the 2023/24 season.

This table demonstrates that not only is Irving an all-round midfielder capable of scoring, passing and defending, but he also does it to a higher degree of success than other similar profile players. Based on these metrics, it’s no surprise Rangers and Celtic have both shown an interest in bringing him to the Premiership and that they have to face Serie A and Bundesliga competition for him.