RANGERS recruitment chief Nils Koppen has opened talks with summer transfer target Albion Rrahmani’s representatives, according to a report.
The 23-year-old has been linked with a move to Glasgow after he scored 13 goals in 15 league matches this season for Rapid Bucharest.
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A full Kosovo international, Rrahmani has a similar profile to Aberdeen star Bojan Miovski.
Both players are 6ft2in and made their names in Eastern Europe, both in their home country and the leagues of neighbouring nations.
Digi Sport in Romania say that Rangers are ‘heavily courting’ Rrahmani and that Nils Koppen flew to Mexico for crunch talks with the player’s agent.
According to Transfermarkt, Rrahmani market value is in the region of £3m but Rapid would want to secure a club record sale of around £6.8m to agree to part ways.
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Slavia Prague have been mentioned as having bid for the player already, and this chimes with a previous report claiming there had been at least one offer for the striker and it wasn’t from Gers.
The Czech side reportedly tabled a bid of £2.5m but Rangers are purported to be weighing up that figure with an offer of £5.1m, leading the Romanian outlet to suggest the Ibrox side are the favourites to sign Rrahmani.
Rrahmani’s form in Romania has put clubs on red alert this summer and the player himself appeared to wave goodbye to fans at the end of the last game of their season.
Incidentally, former Celtic boss Neil Lennon has been installed as the new Rapid Bucharest manager – and he isn’t planning on letting the star forward leave without a fight.
Lennon said: “I don’t want Rrahmani to go anywhere.
“He is a very good player. Goalscorers are very important players in a team.
“He had a fantastic season.”
But Rapid’s co-owner Victor Angelescu later admitted their star striker is almost certain to leave in the next window.
He has even already lined up a replacement in Romanian international hitman Louis Munteanu – who spent the season on loan at Farul Constanta from his parent club Fiorentina – for the upcoming campaign.
Speaking at the end of May, Angelescu said: “There is an 80 percent chance that Albion Rrahmani will leave Rapid. We must prepare for this scenario.
“We want Louis Munteanu, we want to bring him in. We are not in an advanced negotiation yet though. Fiorentina has one more league game and the Europa Conference League Final, then we’ll talk.
“The arrival of Louis Munteanu depends on the departure of Rrahmani, taking into account that there is a major interest in him.
“Next season, we have a realistic aim of getting a European place. We cannot aim for the title of champion because we have to remember that we only finished sixth this season.”
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