Ibrox Noise understands that while Rangers had an initial exploration regarding former Dundee defender Luke Graham, there was nothing else which ever emerged in that interest. The interest in the former Dundee defender was based on Rangers’ lack of left sided stoppers at the rear guard. The interest in the press was completely driven 100% by TeamTalk and Football Insider, who were seeking clicks.
Rangers never followed up
Rangers did not follow up that initial interest with a genuine solid bid, although there was talk of preparation of one. Essentially, once Derek McInnes took over at Ibrox, interest in Graham disappeared entirely. Ibrox Noise stopped covering that story well over a month ago. The problem was, of course, that the other sites like TeamTalk and Football Insider continued to run with the story to gain revenue. All the while, EFL Championship sides had actually made their move, and as we now know, Graham is a Stoke defender.
Stoke made the move
Stoke in the Championship made their move, made their bid, met Dundee’s valuation, and got their man. They warded off competition from one or two other rival sides in their division. However, Rangers never did make an actual bid. There was only the speculation that they were preparing one, and that was before Derek McInnes took charge. Once the former Hearts manager was Rangers boss, the interest faded. Graham was not one that Derek McInnes ever wanted.
McInnes has the final say
This is, of course, the big difference with McInnes compared with previous managers. All players who are coming in now may have been scouted by a mix of himself and the scouting team, but all decisions will be final on his desk. Derek McInnes is responsible for every single signing that Rangers make. He lives and dies on the sword of those signings, as it should be, as all managers should.
Summer window speculation
But the interest in Luke Graham was completely driven for clicks by various sites that were looking for nothing more than advertising revenue. This is a common issue that Rangers fans have to deal with when it comes to speculation over our club and transfers. But them’s the clicks during the summer window.