Rangers want to sign 'Prime Target' who is not seen as a starter - report

Rangers don’t see Liam Kelly as a number one goalkeeper despite being “prime target” to return to the club, according to Chris Jack.

The journalist reported via the Rangers Review website on 4 June that the ex-Motherwell captain is as an attractive option due to his affordability and “the fact he ticks boxes in terms of UEFA squad registrations”.

But with back-up keeper Robby McCrorie heading for an exit and bids widely predicted to arrive this summer for star number one Jack Butland, it is to replace the former rather than the latter that Kelly has been lined up for.

Indeed, were McCrorie set to stay next season Rangers would reportedly not be doing a deal to bring the exit-bound Fir Park man back.

Liam Kelly not a Jack Butland replacement at Rangers

With the way things are shaping up at the goalkeeper position this summer Kelly might end up having to step in as a number one if he completes a move to Ibrox.

McCrorie’s departure has been on the cards for a long time, and in many ways it’s a wonder that he has held out this long out of loyalty to a club which has continually overlooked him as a starter.

Being behind Allan McGregor and Butland is perhaps understandable, but the fact that Jon McLaughlin was given the chance to start ahead of him two seasons ago less so.

Kelly, 28, would represent a very strong option to back up Butland as a like-for-like swap for McCrorie, having 168 Scottish Premiership games under his belt since leaving Rangers the first time around.

But if a big-money bid arrives for the Englishman that is impossible to refuse later this summer it could suddenly leave Philippe Clement short when the position was arguably the strongest in the squad last term.

A lucrative sale back to the Premier League could help fund the overhaul in the transfer market but would also add another big job to that in replacing the man himself, which wouldn’t be cheap to do without a drop off in quality.

Rangers could do a lot worse than Kelly if it comes to it but Clement is likely hoping the presumed market for his star man in goal doesn’t ultimately materialise to a point where he has to sell.

In other Rangers news, the Light Blues’ transfer budget plan has emerged amid interest in snapping up a player from a Premier League giant.

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