NORWICH, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 17: Norwich City announce Dean Smith as their new Manager during a Press Conference at Carrow Road on November 17, 2021 in Norwich, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
Pundit thinks wages will stop Rangers signing star who’s club rejected £4m bid
This is a Rangers transfer saga that has seemingly been around since the dawn of time.
OK, maybe not quite that long. You won’t find any ancient cave paintings of Kenny McLean wearing the royal blue of the Glasgow giants.
But you can certainly trace it back to the summer of 2017. When Pedro Caixinha was in the Ibrox dugout and Rangers, via the Glasgow Evening Times, were hot on the heels of a young midfielder who had outgrown the Pittodrie pond at Aberdeen.
The report said that Rangers submitted a bid. One Aberdeen rejected before selling McLean to Norwich City for a cut-price fee of just £300,000 twelve months later.
Seven years on, is this most long-running saga finally coming to an end? Will McLean jump at the chance to finally join his ‘boyhood club’, per The Athletic? A Rangers side who he may feel he’s got unfinished business with after spending some time with the club’s academy as a youngster but without ever making a first-team appearance.
Rangers back in for Norwich City’s Kenny McLean
Carlton Palmer, the former England international, is not surprised to see 32-year-old McLean emerge as a target during a summer in which Rangers have lost the experience of Ryan Jack and John Lundstram.
“There is a major revamp going on at Glasgow Rangers this summer to make them competitive for next season,” Palmer tells Football League World.
“They’ve released a load of experienced players from the football club, and they have signed a lot of young players. So they are looking to bring in an experienced midfield player.”
According to Anglian publication the Pink ‘Un, one issue facing Rangers is that Norwich will demand a considerable sum with two years left on McLean’s contract.
Per Sky Sports, Leeds United saw a £4 million bid rejected last summer.
Palmer feels that Norwich will consider offers given McLean’s age but insists that another ‘stumbling block’ could be the size of McLean’s wages.
