Rangers are interested in signing Millwall defender Jake Cooper this summer, as Bruno Alves prepares to exit Ibrox after a underwhelming first season at the club.
That’s according to The Express, who say that Cooper has emerged as one of Steven Gerrard’s top targets this summer.
Rangers have already signed Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic ahead of the new season, vital reinforcements in a position that was let down badly by poor performances last term.
David Bates has moved on to Hamburg, Bruno Alves is reported to be on the verge of a move to Parma and Fabio Cardoso has already been told he will not be getting any first team action this season.
Cooper made 38 appearances for Millwall in the English Championship last term, having made more than 100 professional appearances for the Lions and Reading so far in his career. Still young at 23 years of age, he also has the room to improve even further.
Rated at £450k by Transfermarkt, The Express say that Rangers may have to pay over £1m for his services, with Millwall valuing him highly.
Signing three central defenders in one summer would be a major statement from Gerrard that he sees the position as the team’s top priority heading into the new campaign. As many supporters will tell you after last season, he is spot on with that assessment.
Rangers conceded more goals than any other top six side in the Scottish Premiership in 2017/18.
If the manager can fix that, it’ll go a long way towards helping Rangers compete for major honours.