Rangers’ pursuit of Vitesse star Million Manhoef appears to have hit a dead end after Arnham’s technical director Benjamin Schmedes put the breaks on selling the winger with claims the club’s desperate attempt to avoid being relegated have scuppered any deal for the winger.

With his being under contract until 2025, it’s being reported that Schmedes believes if he can help the club beat off relegation, they can sell him in the summer for considerably more than his circa £4M market value, but then that would potentially leave an unhappy player in Manhoef who may well want the switch to Rangers.

And the logic of waiting till the summer to get more for a £4M player who would then have 12 months left seems a bit odd.

By summer, no matter what, Manhoef isn’t going to get a massive transfer fee for Vitesse, because no one with a year left would.

The most they’d get would be akin to the £6M Rangers got for Joe Aribo – decent, but hardly worth waiting 6 months extra for.

His numbers?

4 goals and an assist in 17 this season – mostly ever-present. So not breathtaking numbers at all. Last season was a bit better – 9 goals 6 assists in 35, but a staggering winger he isn’t, and the current £4M value is about right.

He’s only 22, so still has some developing to do, but we can’t say Manhoef is a class apart from Ross McCausland who plays the same position.

This for us would be like signing another McCausland, both at similar stages of development, both at similar levels.

But as per always, we watch and wait to see if the interest in Manhoef becomes anything more real.