Rangers have been handed a boost on the transfer front after it emerged that one of their targets could be brought to Ibrox for absolutely nothing.
Pressure on club hierarchy
Rangers boss Philippe Clement has already expressed his disappointment at the way that transfers have been happening at Ibrox in previous years, not least due to the fact that five of his players could yet leave the Scottish Premiership club for free this summer.
"I know that we are not the most wealthy club in the world. We want to get transfers in that can have an impact now but also can have added value for the next couple of years on the field and selling them for bigger amounts", he explained back in January.
"This season to have five players out of contract is a crazy situation because you throw away money. They have no value any more if the contract is ended.
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"So there is a lot of work to be done in that way, everybody in the club is working hard in that way to have clear vision of how to bring money into the club by developing players but getting results also, winning trophies.
Out of contract this summer
Transfer value
John Lundstram
£6m
Kemar Roofe
£1.5m
Ryan Jack
£1m
Leon Balogun
£200k
Borna Barisic
£3.75m
Jon McLaughlin
£200k
"You don't have the situation where you have players of value going free at the end of contract – it can never happen."
Now, Rangers Director of Football Nils Koppen has a chance to use the free agent market to their advantage.
Rangers in hunt for defender
That comes via West Ham defender Ben Johnson, who the Scottish giants are tracking but who is also catching the eye of Championship clubs. After a strong start to his career at the London Stadium, in which former Hammer Trevor Sinclair dubbed him "superb", his progress has stalled.
He has started just four times in the Premier League this season and appeared only 12 times in total, racking up a measly 534 minutes under David Moyes' tutelage. As a result, he is set to leave.
Johnson's £20,000 a week contract at West Ham is due to expire this summer, and the 24-year-old is yet to pen fresh terms, having turned down several offers from West Ham.
Failure to agree a new deal would leave him available as a free agent ahead of the new season and Football Insider report that the defender "wants to take advantage of his free-agent status" to leverage a move of his choosing amid interest from "clubs in the Premier League and clubs at the top end of the Championship", as well as naming Rangers specifically.
Clement's side were interested in signing Johnson in January, and could return for him at even less cost this time around, which may soften the blow of potentially losing so many stars for nothing come the end of this season.
