The midfielder is reportedly on the transfer radar at Everton after form with Rangers
An ex Premier League scout has made a transfer claim over one Rangers star - as Everton are believed to be watching on.
Russell Martin has arrived as head coach at Ibrox and will look to bolster his squad in the transfer market. He is set to be backed by new owners 49ers Enterprises and Andrew Cavenagh but a player trading model is also on the agenda, and key stars could go in order to make that a reality. It’s been claimed by the Daily Express Everton “have identified Rangers star Mohamed Diomande as one of several midfield targets this summer.”
The report added Diomande “is a player Everton chiefs have identified as a candidate to bolster Moyes' ranks in the middle of the park.” The midfielder has shone at Ibrox and ex Aston Villa, West Ham and Man Utd talent spotter Mick Brown is of the belief Premier League clubs are watching him. That said, Brown believes the 49ers will back Martin when it comes to keeping top stars.
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He told Football Insider: “Russell Martin wants to keep his best players, that’s the first thing. They finished 17 points behind Celtic this year, and they’ve got to make that ground up quickly and be shown to be challenging. The difficulty is bringing in players who will lift them to close that gap. It becomes even more difficult if you start losing your best players on top of that, because then they need replacing and potentially upgrading.
“I hear Premier League clubs have been watching the likes of Diomande which will be a concern. How advanced their interest is, I’m not sure, but Martin will want to make sure he stays.
“He wants to keep their best players while bringing in new options around them, that’s the only way they can start to improve their situation. I expect with the new owners as well, he will be backed to make that happen.”
Russell Martin on keeping Rangers stars
Martin said of trying to retain top talent at his unveiling: “We have to try and keep our best players. I think we’re all really aligned with that. So unless things come in that really help the club to build and move forward, I don’t think it’s a necessity to do that [sell] at all. That’s my understanding of it. And we’ve all been really clear on it. So we’ll just have to wait and see. But I’m looking forward to working with those guys.
“There are a few positions where we’ll need to strengthen fairly quickly and fairly early on [with regards to Champions League qualifiers in July]. I’m pretty sure by then we’ll have one or two in. I’m also willing to be surprised and I’m open to being surprised by some of the players we have here. I feel excited about the challenge of Europe, yeah. I think it’s different in terms of obviously having a bit less awareness of the opposition, which is going to take a bit more working.
“But it’s going to be about us. Whether we’re playing in Europe, in the league, in the cup, whatever it is, it’s going to be about us and trying to be the best we can be. But to experience that, the thought of having European nights here, it’s hugely exciting and appealing. So we have to try and make that happen.”
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