Warburton will continue to use loophole to raid England

MARK WARBURTON is content to keep preying on English clubs vulnerable to cross-border raids for young talent as Joe Dodoo prepares to become the fourth such bargain Rangers signing of the summer.

Under transfer regulations for out-of-contract players under the age of 24, the Leicester City striker is available for a set nominal fee to Rangers. If he was to move within the Premier League, the buying club would be at the mercy of a tribunal decision on a fee which could run into millions.

Warburton notes that English clubs are, therefore, ‘terrified’ to pursue players in that bracket — leaving switched-on scouting departments such as his own network to make their cut-price move.

Warburton has already tempted highly-rated Liverpool midfielder Jordan Rossiter to Ibrox at a cost of £250,000 by virtue of the loophole. He has been starring as skipper of England’s Under-19s at the European Championships in Germany this month.

Minimal compensation was finally thrashed out with Accrington Stanley, too, for the signings of their prize assets Josh Windass and Matt Crooks. The guidelines offer one rare avenue for Scottish clubs to compete for the signing of quality young talent down south.

‘We have to find a way of attracting talent,’ said Warburton (right). ‘It’s important that we use every possible advantage. Celtic have done exactly the same by getting (Moussa) Dembele — it’s the same process, it’s a UEFA guideline. The club has followed strict protocol and it’s a more formulaic approach to the transfer fee. ‘It’s a loophole for us. It helps us with targets and recruitment. Could we afford to buy certain players without it? No, we couldn’t. We still have to attract the players and do our work to create the right environment, so it’s far from easy. The secret is finding the balance and knowing when to move. ‘English clubs are terrified of tribunals because you just never know what will come out of it. Once a decision is made at a tribunal, you have to stick to it.

‘So for us, it’s more defined — we know exactly what a player will cost us. No club wants to lose their best young players. But the English clubs are aware of the situation, it’s a directive and all clubs like Rangers are doing is following the protocol. There were some comments made regarding Crooks and Windass coming here. But all we did was adhere to the guidelines.’

Warburton appreciates why English sides are occasionally caught out as the contracts of some of their young prospects approach their final six months. He explained: ‘You can offer players a contract too early. That’s the risk you run. But if you leave it too late, you also run the risk of losing the player. It’s a balancing act.

‘You don’t want your squad on the same length of contract at the same time. Otherwise you risk losing your whole squad.

‘If we can, we need to get value for money and then develop them. Take Jordan Rossiter.

‘Who knows where he’ll be in three years’ time? But we see the pedigree, the talent and the attitude of the boy.’