KAMARA FOCUS
Finn is in demand but thinking only of Rangers
GLEN KAMARA admits there was strong interest in him during the summer transfer window but insists he remains 100 per cent committed to Rangers.
The Premiership champions have opened talks and are trying hard to get their star midfielder to sign a new contract beyond his existing deal that runs until the summer of 2023.
The Finnish midfielder, who will be in World Cup qualifying action against France this evening, confirmed he has suitors from a number of different leagues.
English sides Aston Villa and Brentford were amongst the teams interested this summer along with Dynamo Kiev.
But the 25-year-old insisted it never got to a stage where he thought he was leaving and the focus was always on giving his all for the Ibrox giants.
Kamara said: “From what I know, there has been some interest from different teams in different leagues.
“I know that but my full focus is on the Rangers.
“If something had happened then it would have happened but it didn’t happen, and the focus is on the Rangers, which is something I look forward to.”
Kamara hasn’t closed the door on signing a new deal at Ibrox but after four seasons in Scotland, first with Dundee, would eventually like to test himself in different surroundings.
The former Arsenal kid said: “There have been talks and they have been ongoing. We will see what happens.”
Kamara has taken his career to another level since moving to Ibrox in 2019.
He has become a star for his club and Finland, helping them reach the Euro 2020 finals.
The midfield ace will get the chance to showcase his talents again tonight when the Finns face France in a crunch clash in Lyon.
It will see Kamara compete with the likes of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, as the top two in Group D go head-to-head.
Finland trail the world champions by four points but currently have two games in hand over them so the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Kamara, speaking at Finland’s pre-match press conference, claimed: “Every game you play in, you want to go in and play well for your team. It doesn’t matter who you are against. Obviously, you want to do well against the best players in the world.”
Finnish team-mate Lukas Hradecky has claimed it should be an honour for Kante or Pogba to play against Kamara.
But the Rangers star modestly shrugged off his keeper’s words of praise.
Finland beat Kazakhstan at the weekend with Kamara watching on, as he was suspended.
He believes that shows the genuine strength and depth that the Finns now have. It also gives them great confidence as they prepare to tackle another of Europe’s big hitters.
Kamara insisted:“We are all looking forward to the game.
“All the games we have been playing over the last year or so have all been tough.
“But we are happy we got a result in the last game and hopefully we can get another result in this match.”
Fellow Rangers star Kemar Roofe made his international debut for Jamaica but it ended in World Cup disappointment on Sunday night.
The Reggae Boyz also gave a debut to West Ham United star Michael Antonio.
But Roofe and Antonio were unable to stop Jamaica slumping to a 3-0 defeat to
Panama in their home World Cup qualifier.
Ibrox stars Ianis Hagi and Filip Helander face crunch games with Romania and Sweden tomorrow night.
But while Hagi is likely to feature for Romania against North Macedonia, Swedish boss Janne Andersson revealed that Helander has been training separately due to a mystery injury ahead of their clash with Greece.
Helander played a starring role in the win over Spain but then missed the weekend win over Uzbekistan.
Anderson confirmed: “Filip Helander [has] run individually in the gym. Some players have been given an adapted training load and will step up gradually.
When asked if he was expected to be fit for tomorrow, he added: “It’s too early to say. We can’t take it for granted.”
Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard will not want any risks taken ahead of his side’s game with St Johnstone on Saturday.
He already has defensive concerns over Nathan Patterson, who has pulled out of the Scotland squad, and captain James Tavernier is just getting back to full fitness after Covid.
Leon Balogun will also be on World Cup duty in Cape Verde tomorrow for Nigeria so Gerrard is facing a sweat to see who is available.
There have been talks and we will see what happens GLEN KAMARA ON HIS PROSPECTS OF SIGNING A NEW DEAL AT RANGERS