ALL GO FOR JOE
Rangers close to £1.5m signing of striker Garner
RANGERS were last night poised to conclude the signing of Preston striker Joe Garner in a deal worth around £1.5million.
The English Championship club have accepted the package put forward after Garner intimated he was keen on a move to Ibrox.
Some aspects of the transfer have yet to be finalised, but it is expected that the 28-year-old will be in Glasgow by Friday to undergo a medical and sign a three-year contract.
Rangers have also taken former Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos on trial, but it is the fee being paid for Garner that represents the boldest piece of business following the club’s Premiership return.
Mark Warburton’s nine previous
summer signings arrived for a total outlay in the region of £600,000, although the likes of Joey Barton, Niko Kranjcar and Jordan Rossiter have also hiked the wage bill. Garner, though, has been tracked by Warburton throughout the window as the Ibrox manager sought attacking reinforcement. The former Carlisle, Nottingham Forest and Watford forward was a prolific scorer for Preston in League One. Despite managing only six goals in the Championship last term, his hard-working, aggressive style is seen by Warburton as an ideal complement to the existing forward options at Rangers. Speaking earlier yesterday, Preston boss Simon Grayson confirmed Garner’s views would be pivotal to the conclusion of the transfer. ‘We will be speaking to Joe to get an opinion on what he wants to do and try to get it concluded one way or the other,’ said Grayson. ‘That is not to say we need to sell. Sometimes, you have to give the player the chance to see what he wants to do. ‘It can be unfair if you decline an offer and a player wants to go. ‘There are talks going on between Joe, myself and representatives, but, ultimately, we are in a position where we don’t have to sell. We don’t have to sell players to finance other deals. ‘In Joe, we have a player who is under contract for two more years. Ultimately, it might boil down to if Joe wants to leave or not.’ Adding a further centre-half is another priority for Warburton before the window shuts, with Senderos now training at Auchenhowie. The Swiss international is hoping to win a contract as he is currently without a club following a six-month spell with Grasshoppers in his homeland. Warburton had previously dismissed a link with Senderos. Responding on August 4 to a report of a contract offer for the 31-year-old, he said: ‘It’s like Robin van Persie, I get a phone call and it’s all news to me. ‘It’s another one we’ve apparently signed. We’ve offered him a one-year deal. It’s news to me. I’m not amazed it comes out but there’s no truth in it.’ The Ibrox side have been hunting for additional defensive reinforcement following the signing of veteran Clint Hill. Former Crystal Palace centre-half Adrian Mariappa travelled to Glasgow for talks, while Oguchi Onyewu joined their pre-season training camp in America. Meanwhile, former Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels has taken a swipe at Warburton’s tactics. The Northern Irishman, whose son Dean was on the books at Ibrox last season, has claimed he doesn’t expect Rangers to thrive in the top flight. ‘He (Warburton) has got very predictable and has been found out a bit,’ Shiels, now in charge of Derry City, told the Fitba Hacks podcast. ‘I feel they’ll have a mediocre season because teams know how to play against them now. ‘There is no mix in how he plays. It’s OK saying we have to have a way of playing, a style of playing but you must have a variety within that.’