DREAM TEAM
McBurnie would love Ibrox move, while Rangers close in on Ejaria
OLI McBURNIE last night admitted he would love to be part of the Steven Gerrard Rangers revolution.
The Swansea striker, who turns 22 today, was denied his first Scotland goal by the width of a post in the 1-0 defeat to Mexico.
And before he returned home for talks over his future, McBurnie conceded a move to Ibrox is very much in his thoughts.
Gerrard is expected to tie up a loan deal for Anfield attacking midfielder Ovie Ejaria within the next 48 hours and is chasing Liverpool’s England Under-21 striker Dominic Solanke.
Growing up a Rangers fan, however, McBurnie believes a move to Ibrox would
help cement his place as Scotland’s centre-forward after a successful loan spell at Barnsley last season. Linked with Rangers on a near weekly basis, the Leeds-born forward joked: ‘Tell me about it... ‘You know what football is like with the amount of speculation. My tweets probably don’t help. ‘I am a Rangers fan and, whatever happens, I want Steven Gerrard to go there and do as well as he can. ‘I want Rangers to get back where they belong. Whether that’s with me there or not, it is what it is. ‘I’ve always said that I would love to play for Rangers. I have one year left at Swansea but there is obviously no manager there. It is kind of up in the air at the minute. ‘When I get home, I’ll speak to the relevant people and see what happens.’ Heavily linked with the Ibrox club in the January window, McBurnie admits a deal was never as close as the speculation suggested. ‘I had three options — and Rangers were not one,’ he revealed. ‘But I want to play first-team football now. I want to play at the highest level possible every week. ‘My loan spell at Barnsley was my first taste of playing at a good level regularly and I really enjoyed it. ‘I scored nine in 16 games and I got player of the season there. ‘I want to be somewhere I can play every week and be the main man.’ Meanwhile, Ejaria looks like he will be the fourth Rangers signing of the summer — and the first Liverpool recruit to join Gerrard at Ibrox. The 20-year-old spent time on loan at Sunderland last season and is now set to leave Anfield on a temporary basis once again. Gerrard is also keen to take Solanke on loan from Liverpool next season, with weekend reports claiming it had attained a priority position in his transfer plans. The Anfield club are, however, unlikely to make any call on what happens with the 20-year-old striker until August as they weigh up their own forward options. Solanke is unsure what the future holds, but he recognises the esteem in which Gerrard is held. ‘He is a legend,’ said the former Chelsea youngster. ‘Gerrard has done so much for the club (Liverpool) and for football. ‘I am happy he has the Rangers job and I think it will be good for him. I’m intrigued to see how he does.’ The outstanding form of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane kept Solanke on the Anfield sidelines for most of last season. An Under-20 World Cup winner with England last summer, he started just five Premier League games under Jurgen Klopp and made 21 substitute appearances.