Stephen set to move on as Gio waits for goal ace
RANGERS kid Stephen Kelly is heading for the Ibrox exit as Giovanni van Bronckhorst continues to play a waiting game over No.1 target Antonio Colak.
Academy graduate Kelly was tipped for big things with the Light Blues but has now been told he can move on if he can find the right club before the transfer window closes.
The Scotland Under-21 cap was back training with
van Bronckhorst’s firstteam squad yesterday.
The midfielder is wanted by Premiership clubs and there is also strong interest from League One and Two outfits in England.
The 22-year-old had a successful loan spell with Salford City last season, which followed stints at Ross County and Ayr, and is on the wanted list of a number of teams again.
He was made available for loan last season and that remains the case.
But with Kelly heading into the final year of his contract, it’s been made clear it is likely that he will be allowed to leave if the right deal can be struck.
Former boss Steven Gerrard opted to keep the highly-rated youngster around last season to learn from Glen Kamara and Steven Davis, only for that decision to be reversed in January after his successor had arrived at Ibrox. While Kelly is now considering his options, van Bronckhorst has been told he will only be able to get his hands on top target Colak once PAOK have a replacement.
The Greek Super League outfit’s manager Razvan Lucescu confirmed PAOK received an “important” bid for the 28-year-old as Rangers close in on the £2.6million-rated striker.
But alarm bells were triggered at Ibrox when the German-born Croatia international featured as a half-time substitute during PAOK’s pre-season friendly with Go Ahead Eagles on Wednesday night.
Lucescu is reluctant to let the hitman leave right now, insisting his exit would leave him short on attacking options with Nelson Oliveira the club’s only other striker.
Lucescu said: “I can tell you I know about an offer for Antonio from a good club that for him could be important. At the same time, if Antonio leaves in the next few days it’s a problem as it leaves us with one striker.
“Games are coming soon and it’s not easy to bring in new players. You need time for negotiations, money, players that are available and not, players that have chemistry with us.
“So these are the two aspects and they are not so easy to be solved, from Antonio and from us.”