Todays Rangers link - Pedro Mendes

[Scottish Mag 3]

NEWCASTLE UNITED have been told to forget about signing Portuguese midfielder Pedro Mendes – unless they pay Glasgow Rangers £6m.

 

Joe Kinnear, the United manager, is actively seeking new players to add to his squad this month, with Mendes and Ibrox team-mate Barry Ferguson two of those he is interested in.

 

But while Rangers’ manager Walter Smith would accept an offer of around £3m for Ferguson, there is more determination to retain the services of Mendes.

 

Since moving north of the border in August for £3m from Portsmouth, Mendes has become something of a crowd favourite.

 

Any hopes Newcastle may have of taking Mendes to Tyneside on loan with a view to a permanent deal have been dismissed out of hand.

 

Rangers insist that while Smith feels every player has a price, he is keen to retain the services of an integral part of his team.

 

Smith is under pressure to trim his wage bill and is willing to listen to offers, but it is unlikely that Newcastle would agree to meet the £6m value, given how Mendes turns 30 next month.

 

And with Kinnear’s transfer fund thought to be minimal, he knows paying such an inflated price for the former Tottenham man would seriously reduce his spending power for the remainder of the month.

 

Ferguson, on the other hand, is a more likely option.

 

The 30-year-old has accepted that Smith no longer views him as part of the club’s long term plans and a transfer to the North-East would appeal.

 

Rangers are determined to move on a couple of players this month, particularly given how the sale of Kris Boyd to Birmingham City has been plunged in to doubt.

 

Boyd was on the verge of a £3.8m switch to St Andrew’s but a failure to agree personal terms has left Alex McLeish saying that transfer is now ‘dead’.

 

It was thought that Rangers wanted somewhere in the region of £6m for the former Scotland captain, although the reality is that they would be willing to accept half that.

 

But in an interesting development yesterday, Rangers chairman Sir David Murray appeared to indicate that he was not about to offload Ferguson cheaply.

 

“We have no intention of selling Allan McGregor, Barry Ferguson, Madjid Bougherra or anybody else,” said Murray.

 

“There is no pressure to do so on me or the banks.

 

“But Rangers have to be run on a sound fiscal basis. We did not budget for losing to FBK Kaunas (ending the club’s European push), we have a squad of 28 players and we simply cannot sustain the level of outgoings compared to what is coming in.

 

“We are paying between £5m and £7m in wages per year for players who are not required. You cannot choose who you may wish to put out the door because it is dependent on offers coming in.”

 

Manchester City denied making an £8m offer for Shay Given yesterday, although he is considering his options after a frustrating few years at St James’ Park.

 

It has also emerged that Portsmouth are again exploring the possibility of landing Joey Barton.

[Ferguson_6 0]

Yous definetly wont get mendes on loan and for a buy youd probaly be looking at 6-7 million and with im being a key player for our title chase i seriously doubt a deal. But hes still far over rated and only shows glimpses of brilliance now and then, only controls matches at ibrox but never fancies it at your tough away games on a cold night when you really need him, he does have a brilliant touch and great passing and can score from any distance. In my eyes and others I know the best midfeilder in our side is Kevin Thomson who was a absoloute bargain from hibs at 2 million but hes out for the season so would be pretty pointless in trying, but the best player you could get from us is thommo.

Err.. that'll be Celtic then.

Tynecastle and Eastern Road and generally any games far up north can be hard places to pick up 3 points but not always.