Rangers are vying for the signature of Joe Rothwell on a free transfer, with his Blackburn contract set to expire at the end of next month.
The powerful, all action midfielder is a man in demand with a “host” of clubs said to be competing, including Premier League newcomers for next season, Fulham and Bournemouth.
The latest on this transfer chase was provided by Ian Dennis of the BBC, below.
Fulham are looking to rival Bournemouth’s efforts to sign Blackburn midfielder Joe Rothwell. #AFCB had a bid turned down in Jan. Rothwell is out of contract this summer.
Rangers and a host of Championship clubs are also understood to be interested in Rothwell. #FFC— Ian Dennis (@Iandennisbbc) May 26, 2022
The name of Joe Rothwell has supposedly been on Rangers watchlist for the past 18 months, with plenty of speculation linking Ross Wilson and previously Steven Gerrard with an interest in the 27-year old who had a return of three goals and 10 assists from 41 Championship appearances for Blackburn last season.
Rangers were said to be previously ‘leading the race’ for Rothwell, whilst back in January here on VitalRangers, we shared opinion from Alan Hutton on the potential move for the Man United trainee when he stated:
“He was obviously one of the standout performers last season at Blackburn.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that they’re keeping an eye on him. They could go and try and pull the trigger early doors before January to try and get something over the line before any other team comes in…”
Quality
Gio van Bronckhorst needs an increase in quality in his first team to get to the next level next season, but there also needs to be more of a goalscoring contribution from middle to front as a whole. Rothwell could contribute toward this and he also represents a free transfer – it is in this market that the club has to be very competitive, to excel and get as much value as possible, due to being simply priced out of other player brackets.
Players from the English Championship and even League 1 can make an impact in the Scottish Premiership, but there are no guarantees. This is where the scouting and due diligence comes into effect but if Rothwell is still prominent on the Ibrox list into a second manager (after Gerrard’s reported interest) it will tell us all we need to know, ahead of a very busy few weeks to follow.