Former Rangers coach ‘eyes swoop for Ibrox star as two European rivals battle it out for his signature'
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
CLINTON NSIALA is being targeted by two European clubs that play in the same league, it's being claimed.
Rangers boss Russell Martin has already made it clear that the defender will leave the Ibrox club this summer - just one year after sealing his move to Scotland.
2
Clinton Nsiala is expected to leave Rangers in the coming weeks
Credit: Willie Vass
2
Issame Charai is keen to sign him at his new club
Credit: Alamy
Nsiala, 21, moved to Glasgow last summer after agreeing a pre-contract switch from Italian giants AC Milan.
The French defender made 13 appearances for the Gers first team in all competitions last season and played regularly under interim boss Barry Ferguson.
But he has since fallen down the pecking order at Ibrox with manager Martin admitting he's set for the exit door after the friendly against Club Brugge.
Martin has already brought two new centre-backs to the club as Emmanuel Fernandez joined in a permanent deal, while Nasser Djiga arrived on loan from Wolves.
It leaves Nsiala out-of-favour and the Light Blues gaffer is keen for him to leave on loan for more game time.
And now two clubs have reportedly joined the race to sign him for the upcoming season.
The Daily Record claim that Zulte Waregem and Westerlo - both of Belgium - are set to battle it out to sign the defender on loan.
Zulte are looking to add to their squad ahead of their campaign in the top flight next season after winning the Challenger League last term.
Rivals Westerlo finished the season in tenth place last season and narrowly missed out on a Conference League spot for the upcoming campaign.
They are now managed by former Rangers assistant manager Issame Charai who only left Ibrox last month.
Rangers boss Russell Martin opens up on transfer plans as he delivers updates on Dessers and Igamane
He's well aware of Nsiala's qualities and could have the edge in the transfer race given his Ibrox connections.
The 21-year-old won't be the only defender to head out of Govan in the coming weeks.
John Souttar could also depart as he's a shock target for Turkish side Trabzonspor.
Ben Davies remains at the club as well but he's also expected to leave before the season gets underway.
Left-back Ridvan Yilmaz could also be on his way out after losing his shirt number to Bournemouth loanee Max Aarons.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
15 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Ex-Rangers star who Steven Gerrard eviscerated for jumping ship for 'bigger wage' is having medical at Wrexham
A former Rangers attacker who received an ear bashing from Steven Gerrard following his hasty departure from Ibrox is expected to sign for Wrexham as a free agent Wrexham are on the brink of signing a former Rangers player who was previously criticised by Steven Gerrard in a candid Zoom call. Josh Windass is widely expected to undergo a medical on Monday before joining the Welsh club as a free agent. It follows the 31-year-old, son of Hull City legend Dean Windass, leaving Sheffield Wednesday by mutual consent amid ongoing issues with the club's failure to pay players' wages promptly. Windass was one of Wednesday's standout performers in the English Championship last season, netting 13 goals and providing five assists. Rangers were among the clubs said to have courted him over a potential return to Ibrox this summer. However, Wrexham, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are believed to have won the race for his signature ahead of their first season in the English second tier in 43 years, according to the BBC. Windass had a two-year stint at Rangers after initially joining in the summer of 2016, scoring 19 goals in 73 appearances. He departed to join Wigan Athletic on transfer deadline day in August 2018 in a deal worth approximately £2.5m. In an interview on the Open Goal podcast in May, Windass disclosed how he hastily headed south after hearing about Wigan's interest from then-Rangers manager Gerrard. He admitted regretting the decision and later received a stern reprimand from the Liverpool icon over the manner of his exit. "It was a bad decision but I just went straight down the motorway," Windass said. "I don't know [why]. I just followed my gut at that moment in time and then a week later [I regretted it]. "We had a Zoom call about six months later because I was going to go back on loan in January and Paul Cook wouldn't let me go. Then Gerrard basically gave me what for on the Zoom call. "He told me everything that was wrong with me and what I did and how I can improve as a person. He said, 'If we're going to bring you back we need to have an honest conversation,' and I never went back anyway. That was it. It was a bad couple of weeks." Revealing how rapidly he recognised his blunder, he added: "[I knew I'd made the wrong decision] after my first training session. Mick Beale was texting me saying, 'You're making a big mistake.' I was 23. I was stupid. I just wanted a bigger wage." Windass remained at Wigan for two seasons before switching to Wednesday in 2020 and became instrumental as the Owls secured promotion from League One in 2023. His anticipated switch to Wrexham has materialised despite reported interest from Championship rivals Coventry, Derby and Norwich. Wrexham have been active in the transfer window this summer after registering three consecutive promotions. Plymouth forward Ryan Hardie became their first signing, with Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward following suit. The Red Dragons recently splashed out a record-breaking sum to secure left-back Liberato Cacace from Empoli. They have also reportedly had a £1.2m offer accepted for Bolton captain George Thomason, as per the Bolton News.
Scotsman
15 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Hibs possible European opponents profiled after Europa League and Europa Conference League draws
Here is everything you need to know about Fredrikstad FK, Partizan Belgrade and FС Olexandriya. Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, 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... Hibs will get their latest European adventure underway on Thursday when they face Danish club FC Midtjylland in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie. David Gray's men will hope to take the first steps in building on the momentum gained by last season's third place finish in the Premiership table by laying the foundations for progress with a win at Midtjylland's MCH Arena before finishing the job at Easter Road seven days later. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad No matter what comes to pass in the tie, Gray and his players will extend their European journey as victory over two legs would secure progress into the third qualifying round and defeat would bring a place in the same stage of the Europa Conference League. Monday brought confirmation of who would provide Hibs' opponents in the third qualifying round of UEFA's secondary and tertiary club competitions - and here is the rundown on the three possible opponents in the next step of their European adventure. Europa League Fredrikstad (Norway) Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will compete for the Europa League trophy in the final in Bilbao on Thursday night. | AFP via Getty Images Manager The Aristokratene (The Aristocrats) are currently managed by 39-year-old Andreas Hagen. The former Jerv and Viborg midfielder ended his playing career with Fredrikstad and returned to the club as assistant manager in 2023 before making a permanent step into the main role in the dugout 12 months. Hagen guided the club into the Norwegian Cup Final in December last year and they lifted the trophy for the eleventh time with a penalty shoot-out win against Molde. Star Player Ghanian star Maxwell Woledzi has become a key player within the Fredrikstad side since he joined the club on a free transfer during the summer of 2023 following a spell with Portuguese side Vitória Guimarães. Since making that switch, the versatile defender has made over 70 appearances and has appeared in a number of positions during that time. Stadium Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Aristokratene have player their home games at the Fredrikstad Stadion since 2007 after spending the previous 93 years at the old stadium of the same name. Their current home has a capacity of around 12,560 and has played host to several Norway Under-21 internationals and an Elton John concert in the past. Trophy history Last December's Norwegian Cup Final win against Molde ensured Fredrikstad joined Odds BK as the joint most successful club in the history of the competition. They are also nine-time winners of the Eliteserien (top tier) - although their last title win came way back in 1961 and they have won the second tier title on one occasion. European record Fredrikstad's European record is modest at best as they have suffered defeats at the first hurdle in nine of their ten ventures into continental competition. Their last European adventure was ended by Polish side Lech Poznan as they inflicted a 7-3 aggregate defeat on Fredrikstad in the third qualifying round of the 2009/10 Europa League. Significantly, Fredrikstad's solitary European win came with a 4-0 aggregate victory over Dutch giants Ajax in the 1060/61 European Cup - although their adventure came to an end with a 4-0 defeat against Danish side AGF Aarhus in the following round. Europa Conference League Oleksandriya (Ukraine) AFP via Getty Images Oleksandriya Manager Oleksandriya's head coach is 33-year-old Kyrylo Nesterenko, who has been in coaching since 2015 after his playing career was cut short by two unsuccessful surgeries on a cruciate ligament injury. After spending time in the youth setup at Stal Kamianske, he moved into an assistant manager at the same club before moving on to Shakhter Karagandy, Caspiy and Levski Sofia. However, Oleksandriya have provided him with a first chance as a head coach following his appointment earlier this year. Oleksandriya Star Player Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ukrainian clubs have a history of signing Brazilian players and Oleksandriya are no different. Former Vasco da Gama winger Juan Alvina is a prime example and the 22-year-old has impressed after providing 18 goal contributions in 39 appearances since joining the club September 2023. Oleksandriya Stadium Oleksandriya's home is the 7,000 capacity Nika Stadium, which they have called home since 1998. However, due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, their home matches in the Conference League will be held at the GKS Katowice Stadium in Katowice, Poland, which has a capacity of around 6,700. Oleksandriya Trophy history In terms of major honours, Oleksandriya are two-time winners of the Ukrainian First League (second tier) and one-time winners of the Second League (third tier). Oleksandriya European record Oleksandriya have four three previous ventures into European competition. Their maiden campaign ended at the first hurdle with a 6-1 aggregate defeat in a Europa League third qualifying round tie against Croatian side Hadjuk Split in 2016 before they saw off Romanian club Astra Giurgiu at the same stage of the same competition 12 months later. A play-off round defeat against BATE Borisov ended any thoughts of a place in the group stage of the Europa League. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, that would be Oleksandriya's destination in the 2019/20 Europa League as they claimed three points from a tough-looking group containing Wolfsburg, Gent and Saint-Etienne. That meant the Ukrainians ended the campaign at the foot of their group. Partizan Belgrade Getty Images Partizan Belgrade Manager Partizan's manager is the vastly experienced Srđan Blagojević, who has spent time in charge of the likes of Astana, Debrecen and Kovačevac during a 17-year career in the dugout. He was named as Partizan manager earlier this year. Partizan Belgrade Star Player Ghana winger Ibrahim Zubairu is Partizan's danger man and he has scored 11 goals and provided four assists in 34 appearances since joining from second tier side FK Jedinstvo during the summer of 2024. Partizan Belgrade Stadium The Partizan Stadium has a capacity of 29,775 for matches but can be increased to 40,000 for concerts. It has hosted the Serbian on several occasions with the last coming in 2017 as Partizan claimed a notable win over arch rivals Red Star. Partizan Belgrade Trophy history Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Working back through their entire history, Partizan were 11-time winners of the Yugoslav First League and added a further 16 First League of FR Yugoslavia, First League of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbian Superliga titles over the last 32 years. There have won 16 national cups over the last 80 years and one solitary Yugoslav Super Cup in 1989. Partizan Belgrade European record Partizan are regular competitors in Europe and actually came close to winning the European Cup (now Champions League) in 1966 as they suffered a narrow 2-1 final defeat against an all-conquering Real Madrid side containing the likes of the legendary Paco Gento and Ramon Grosso. Partizan also reached the quarter-final of UEFA's premier cup competition on two occasions during the previous decade and reached the last eight of the Cup Winners Cup in 1990. However, progress to the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup, Europa League and Europa Conference League has been their best performance since then. Partizan have inflicted two European exits on Newcastle United, beating the Magpies on away goals in the Cup Winners Cup in 1998 before claiming a penalty shoot-out win at St James Park in the second leg of a Champions League qualifier five years later. Your next Hibernian read: Hibs star sets European target 11 years after maiden continental adventure and two missed chances
Daily Record
15 minutes ago
- Daily Record
8 things we spotted at Rangers training as key new signing misses out but blockbuster Ibrox debut is teased
Russell Martin was literally scratching his head as he considers his options ahead of Tuesday's clash Thelo Aasgaard sat out of Rangers training ahead of Tuesday night's clash with Panathinaikos in a firm hint it may be too soon for the new signing to feature. Russell Martin put his players through their paces in an intense session before the Champions League second qualifying round first leg that will signify the new boss' first competitive game in charge. The importance of advancing hardly needed underlined but Rangers now know that progress will hand them a slightly more favourable clash with Servette or Viktoria Plzen – while dropping into the Europa League means a brutal showdown with either Besiktas or Shakhtar Donetsk. But they aren't thinking worst case scenario as they put the finishing touches on things ahead of two massive legs with Panathinaikos. Martin will hope to have a number of new signings to call upon and the likes of Joe Rothwell and Max Aarons, who have featured heavily in pre-season, seem certs to start. There is some ambiguity where Aasgaard is concerned and, having sat out of training altogether on Tuesday, he seems unlikely to be involved – certainly from the start. Djeidi Gassama did train and while Martin appeared to suggest it may also come too soon for him, the lack of other options in the wide areas means he'll be given every chance. Here's what we spotted at the final training session before the Panathinaikos clash. A selection headache First impressions count Smile for the camera, boys Yilmaz sighting More On Rangers FC Transfer Talk Rangers FC Transfer News Russell Martin Champions League Thelo Aasgaard Djeidi Gassama
