Andy Scoulding set for Rangers exit as Tottenham poach chief scout who helped architect Steven Gerrard rebuild

Rangers are set to lose their chief talent spotter Andy Scoulding to Premier League giants Tottenham.

Scoulding - who has previously worked with Liverpool, Fulham, Valencia and the English FA - has been identified for a role at Spurs as the North London outfit prepare Antonio Conte’s team for their Champions League return next season.

He joined Gers in 2017 as chief scout and went on to play a key role helping former boss Steven Gerrard assemble the squad that won last year’s Premiership title.

Spurs have also been impressed by the fact a starting XI that cost less than £12million in transfer fees - many of them picked out by Scoulding in combination with sporting director Ross Wilson - went on to reach last month’s Europa League final.

Among the talented stars unearthed by Scoulding are Calvin Bassey.

The 22-year-old cost Gers just £230,000 when he was plucked from Leicester’s youth academy in 2020 but is now tipped to earn the Ibrox outfit around £25million if he moves this summer.

However, Scoulding - who was also pivotal in alerting Rangers to Ryan Kent and Joe Aribo’s potential - is being lined-up for a role outwith Spurs’ recruitment division, which is led by managing director of football Fabio Paratici.

The loss of Scoulding will be a major blow to Wilson and boss Gio van Bronckhorst as they plot upgrades to a team that fell short in their bid to retain the title won by Gerrard.

Speaking back in 2020, Scoulding outlined the work he had carried out at Ibrox.

“When Ross came into the building, he and I sat down and we quickly identified that we had a really strong domestic footprint but we didn’t necessarily have a really strong European footprint,” he said.

“So building on that, the recruitment department