Rangers 'enquire' about Austrian winger who came through at Chelsea
Read more:
Rangers, alongside Dutch giants Ajax and German side Mainz, have enquired about the winger, claims Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg.
Talks are said to be ongoing, with a move for Ballo 'planned' this summer.
🚨🔎 Ajax, Glasgow Rangers and Mainz are monitoring Thierno #Ballo and have made enquiries about the 23-year-old winger from Wolfsberger AC.
No decision has been made yet. More teams are keen on him, and a move for Austria's new international is planned for this summer. Talks… pic.twitter.com/HwOalZOvTC — Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 9, 2025
The 23-year-old came through the youth system at English Premier League side Chelsea.
He joined the London club's under-18s in 2018 from Viktoria Koln in Germany.
After four years at Stamford Bridge during which he never made a senior appearance, Ballo departed on a free transfer for Wolfsberger in 2022, where he has been since.
Speaking on potential incomings after a 2-2 friendly draw with Club Brugge at the weekend, Rangers head coach Russell Martin said: "I expect the team to look different again, the squad to look different in a week's time.
"But in a couple of weeks, so much can happen in football, so I don't know.
"So, I think we are, we're definitely want to do more, for sure. And also probably some players need to to move on as well at some point because the squad's going to start looking very big and very heavy. I don't know is the answer, but it will definitely look different in a week's time."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
8 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Russell Martin explains where post-match Motherwell criticism came from
Head coach says he cares for players and wants them to succeed Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Russell Martin claims his criticism of some of his Rangers squad following their deflating 1-1 draw with Motherwell on Saturday came from a position of 'love and care.' The Gers boss hit out following the William Hill Premiership opener at Fir Park, questioning mentality, speaking about 'egos' and accusing some of 'self-preservation'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Martin was speaking again at the club's training ground ahead of the first leg of the Champions League third qualifier against Czech side Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox on Tuesday night, where a play-off tie against Austrian outfit Salzburg or Club Brugge of Belgium awaits the winners. Rangers head coach Russell Martin speaks to the media ahead of the game against Viktoria Plzen. | SNS Group 'I think if they know us by now as a group of coaches that it all comes from a place of love and care for them,' said the Gers boss, who replied 'hopefully he will be in it, we will wait and see', when asked if new signing Oliver Antman, the Finland winger who joined from Go Ahead Eagles on Monday, will be included in the squad. 'We are here, myself, Gilly (Matt Gill, assistant), the coaches, ultimately for the players. We're here to win football matches, but as coaches day to day, we are here to help the players. 'That's our job, to help them win, to help them develop, to help them improve and understand why, to help them enjoy playing for a club like this, because I don't think too many of them have enjoyed it enough to play for this amazing football club, because it's not always easy. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Place of 'love and care' 'I don't come out and say that because I want to be ruthless and all that stuff. If they know me as a person, the people who do know me, they know it comes from a place of love and to help them and to want them to be better. 'So I think when it comes from that place, whatever is said and if they understand that, then we'll always have a really honest and good conversation about it. I hope they understand who we are by now and what we're here to do, and I really believe they're really trying. 'So they're good people, but the default to try and protect yourself when it gets tough, we need to just shed that a little bit.'
Scotsman
8 minutes ago
- Scotsman
What channel is Rangers v Viktoria Plzen on? TV and live stream details for Champions League tie
All the details ahead of Rangers' Champions League tie with Viktoria Plzen Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Rangers are back in Champions League action on Tuesday when they take on Czech outfit Viktoria Plzen in the third qualifying round. Russell Martin's side progressed past Panathinaikos in the previous round, but started their Premiership campaign with a disappointing 1-1 draw away at Motherwell to kick off their domestic campaign. Here are all the details ahead of the match: Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The first leg of Rangers v Viktoria Plzen will be played at Ibrox. | SNS Group Rangers v Viktoria Plzen match details The Champions League third qualifying round first leg tie between Rangers and Viktoria Plzen takes place on Tuesday, April 5 at Ibrox Park, Glasgow. Kick-off is at 7.45pm. Rangers v Viktoria Plzen TV channel At the time of writing, no television company has selected the match for live broadcast. Rangers v Viktoria Plzen live stream At the time of writing, there is no official live stream planned. Residents outside of the UK and Ireland will be able to watch the match live on Rangers TV. Rangers v Viktoria Plzen highlights There are no planned highlights packages for the Champions League third qualifying round. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rangers v Viktoria Plzen team news Rangers head coach Russell Martin will be without midfielder Thelo Aasgaard and Hamza Igamane due to injury. New signings Mikey Moore and Oliver Antman could be involved if international clearance is received in time. Viktoria Plzen midfielder Pavel Sulc has not travelled to Glasgow as he is in the closing stages of a £7.5 million move to French club Lyon.
Scottish Sun
8 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Moment Russell Martin snaps at reporter as Rangers boss doubles down on squad criticism after Motherwell draw
RUSSELL MARTIN has told any Rangers stars who felt hurt by his words on Saturday that that's THEIR problem. The Ibrox boss called out his players in the wake of the 1-1 draw with Motherwell at the weekend, claiming some of them needed to "drop their egos". 2 Russell Martin spoke to reporters today on the back of the draw against Motherwell Credit: PA Martin's bombshell post-match interview came as quite a shock to some punters and pundits alike, but he revealed he'd had the same conversation with the squad in the dressing room at full-time. Now 48 hours on and with the Champions League qualifier against Viktoria Plzen on the horizon, Martin has doubled down on his criticism. During a press conference he was asked if he felt he had "gone too early" by being so honest in publicly chastising his players. But he snapped back and insisted that nothing he said was personal - and that he can't pick and choose when to be honest. He began: "I'm just not here to play any games really and be political and all that. "I think I'm in a job that demands certain things and when we fall short of that, there's just no point in hiding behind stuff. "The fundamental problem on Saturday was not knowledge, was not ability, it was attitude. I wasn't emotional on Saturday, it was exactly what I said to the players. "The response has been good. You have to watch some clips in here, in this room you're sitting in now, and I have to explain to them why, to make them understand what's expected and what's not going to be acceptable. "This football club and the supporters will demand certain things that are not acceptable and certain things have to be shown, every single minute you're on the pitch. "It's the same old stuff I've said from day one, just fight, willingness to run, to help each other out. Players are running the Rangers dressing room - Martin knows EXACTLY what he's doing "It is hard, to play for this club is not for everyone, it's not easy. You have to be a really resilient and strong person. The self-preservation stuff I spoke about happens throughout football. "It's really difficult when you're having tough moments, you slip back into trying to protect yourself, but actually that doesn't help. "I have empathy for players when it gets tough, but let's always go back to being really horrible and hard to play against. "We weren't hard enough to play against on Saturday, so that's what it came down to. There was no point in sugarcoating it, the players know what to expect, I'm really honest with them, and I was really honest with everyone else. "People can make what they want of it. We're three games in, we haven't been beaten in any of them games, but we have a lot to improve and work on. "The stuff to improve needs to be technical, tactical. The thing that, while we're building and changing so much, and change can often be messy, the things that need to work on can't be mentality, it has to be the rest of it. "The detail, the technical stuff, the tactical stuff, and we'll work on that together and we'll get better and develop. Let's build it on the basis of a really strong mentality wherever we go. That has to be the bottom line." Martin was then asked outright if such a brutally honest performance review after just one league game was "too early". To which he clapped back: "Gone too early with what?" "There's not a choice to be honest sometimes and then to sometimes not. "That's how I feel in life in general and in my job and it's how I've been for six years with the players. "There's been a couple of times when I've done it at previous clubs and never had to do it again. "But it's the same conversation with the players. And then when they come in and they look at stuff, I think they understand why I would say it. "So it's not an attack on anyone personally. It's about us as a football club being stronger and understanding what we need to actually bring success and to win here. "It's not a contrived thing. It's not like, oh, he's gone early and all this stuff. "I had a few messages about it. It's not an attack on any one person. "It's about making sure we understand as a club, the players, the staff, the supporters, what's acceptable and what's going to help us win. "The stuff that hurts on Saturday shouldn't be the stuff that hurts us. "I think we need to create a culture and we need to develop some leaders already here. "Because I think we have some that are really capable for sure." Martin isn't looking for those leaders to be rant and rave types. They just need to be selfless above all else and put the team before themselves. He said: "It's none of the shouting and ranting and raving and all that stuff. It's about being selfless. "I think it's about consistency in behaviour and performance and attitude and the selflessness to help your teammates when the going gets tough. "And I think, you know, there's people out there and it's not the old school ranting and raving and stuff like that. "Even when people do that, I think if they're behind that, they're actually there all the time and they're there for their teammates. I think that's what we'll look for." Martin also had a message for anyone who did take his comments to heart. He insists if that's the case, they probably aren't the kind of people he wants to build his squad around going forward. Martin said: "I think if it has a detrimental effect on certain individuals, then they're probably not the ones that we want to come on a journey with us. "If it has a detrimental effect on you and it hurts you to the point where you feel singled out, then there's probably an issue with you being all in at this place and this club and with us. 2"I don't have any worry about it being detrimental on the team. Whenever I've questioned any of our teams in the past about attitude, the response has been fantastic." 2 Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
