Candeias to hold talks with Turks

STEVEN GERRARD last night revealed that Daniel Candeias is on his way out of Ibrox — with the player heading to Turkey for talks with Genclerbirligi. The 31-year-old was left out of Rangers’ Europa League squad for the tie with St Joseph’s and has now resolved to move on. Candeias responded to his Euro omission by netting a double against Marseille in a friendly at the weekend but, despite Gerrard’s attempts to persuade him to remain in Glasgow, looks set to head for the exit. Speaking after his side beat St Joseph’s 6-0 (10-0 on aggregate) to set up a reunion with Progres Niederkorn, Gerrard said: ‘I had a conversation on Wednesday with Daniel and he said he wanted to go and speak to a team in Turkey. ‘We’ve had an approach and we had a real adult conversation. ‘I said I wanted him to stay and fight for the shirt and be part of the squad but he said he wants to go and explore the situation in Turkey, so we reluctantly, but respectfully, granted him permission. ‘He’s a good man and has been a good servant, so he’s going to speak to the club in Turkey and we’ll see how that one develops. ‘I have to respect Daniel and keep a lot of the conversation private but it boils down to him wanting to be a regular starter, as in every single game. ‘At his age he doesn’t want to be part of the squad and fight for the shirt without any guarantees, so we have to respect his decision but it was his decision to explore this interest. ‘Myself and Mark Allen sat in front of him and echoed that we’d like him to stay, so we’ll see how it develops in the next 24 to 48 hours.’ The Portuguese winger, who had a loan spell with Alanyaspor in Turkey during the 2016-17 campaign, arrived at Ibrox during Pedro Caixinha’s shambolic reign as manager. But he quickly established himself as a first pick, making 45 appearances in his first season and scoring against Celtic at Ibrox in a 3-2 Old Firm defeat. Asked what he felt the likely outcome of the matter was, Gerrard added: ‘My gut feeling is that he wants to move on. The financial side of it isn’t my business but since I’ve walked in the door I only want people who are prepared to fight for the shirt — and nobody is guaranteed to start. ‘I want people prepared to fight tooth and nail to be part of the XI. I really respect him as a person and where he’s at in his career. ‘He’s not the best sub and I understand because I wanted to play every game as a player. I made it quite clear I wanted him to stay but respected his decision and I’ll never stand in anyone’s way if they want to speak to another team.’ Gerrard said he was unaware of French club Dijon’s reported interest in full-back Borna Barisic and Nottingham Forest’s tracking of Wes Foderingham.