Rangers have made a summer exit decision as West Ham, Arsenal and Chelsea all take interest in a key Ibrox star.
Rangers grind out crucial St Mirren win
The Scottish Premiership title race has never been tighter.
Hearts sit top on 63 points, Celtic are two behind them on 61, and Rangers — after Sunday’s hard-fought 1-0 win at St Mirren — have moved to 60, just three points off the summit with eight games to go.
What looked like a procession for Hearts a month ago has become the most compelling three-horse race Scottish football has seen in years.
The win in Paisley was anything but comfortable.
Tuur Rommens settled matters with a 31st-minute goal, but Danny Rohl’s side were made to work by a stubborn St Mirren outfit and were mightily relieved to hear the final whistle after a late disallowed goal for offside threatened to unnerve them.
Three consecutive draws on the road had been a concern — this was the response required.
They were buoyed off the back of Kilmarnock’s result against Hearts on Saturday evening, which cut the Edinburgh club’s lead and kept the Ibrox side’s title aspirations very much alive.
And while the action on the pitch is captivating, the business being plotted off it is equally significant.
Worse than Naderi: 4/10 Rangers star looks like their biggest January mistake
This Glasgow Rangers flop looks like he was the club’s biggest mistake in the January transfer window.
Because one of the players central to Rangers’ title push is attracting serious attention from south of the border — and Ibrox are digging their heels in.
Rangers make Emmanuel Fernandez decision amid Premier League interest
Emmanuel Fernandez was in the starting line-up in Paisley on Sunday, as he has been for much of the second half of this season.
The 24-year-old arrived at Ibrox from Peterborough United last summer with little fanfare, barely featured under Russell Martin in the early weeks, and then completely transformed his fortunes after Rohl took charge.
He is now a mainstay of the Rangers backline and one of the most improved defenders in British football this season.
Six goals in all competitions — predominantly from set-pieces — tells its own story about the threat he poses at both ends of the pitch.
That development has not gone unnoticed.
Arsenal and Chelsea both registered interest earlier in the season, and according to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, West Ham are the latest Premier League club to have fixed their attention on the defender.
With Nuno EspÃrito Santo battling to keep the Hammers in the top flight, Fernandez has been identified as a player with real potential, but Rangers are not listening.
It was previously reported that the Gers were considering cashing in on Fernandez amid West Ham’s interest, but they’ve now made a U-turn.
Indeed, O’Rourke says that the Teddy Bears intend to reject any summer approach, regardless of which club comes calling.
Fernandez is contracted until 2029, giving Rangers every bit of leverage they need, and Rohl is planning to keep him as a cornerstone of his squad going forward.
The key factor underpinning all of this is the Champions League.
Rangers know that potentially finishing top — and therefore securing a place in Champions League qualifying — would dramatically strengthen their hand in any future negotiation.
For a player of Fernandez’s calibre and ambition, the prospect of European football at the highest level is a powerful argument for staying put.
Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham are all seemingly taking note.
For now, though, the answer from Ibrox is a firm no.
Rangers set to enter new contract talks with “fantastic” Rohl favourite on one major condition
The Gers are lining up some summer business…
