Rangers could snap up £3M-rated Connor Barron for nothing in January as the Aberdeen midfielder’s contract at Pittodrie is set to expire next summer.

Barron, 21, has been a stand-out at Pittodrie, and Rangers are keen not to have another ‘Lewis Ferguson’ with the Scottish Premiership side having good history for developing impressive young players they have then sold for big money. Rangers lost out on Barry’s nephew who is now thriving with Bologna in Serie A and has been linked with Milan.

Scott McKenna, Ferguson, Kenny MacLean, Calvin Ramsey and Sam Cosgrove are some of those sold by the Dons for a handsome amount of money, with Ramsey, McKenna and Ferguson especially going out as big asset players to big clubs or leagues.

And Barron is another rising talent from the Academy who could very much be their next big asset player as he grows in prominence.

One only has to look at his recent performance against St Johnstone: 85% passing, 2 key, plus a host of defensive contributions (8) from the middle as he excelled as the Dons’ best player that afternoon and of course played a key role in their League Cup semi final win over Hibernian.

Rangers definitely do require some more defensive midfielders, and Philippe Clement has been keen to emphasise that he needs a better and bigger squad for the long haul, and will be looking to bring in more players if possible.

Barron, as a January pre-contract, could be ideal. He has a tonne of potential, he has 9 caps for Scotland’s U21s and he is evidently a talented player of the ilk of John Lundstram.

And Rangers did ok the last time they signed a midfielder from Aberdeen…

Might be one to watch….