'Rangers are in a long line of admirers' - Fresh claim emerges on 'exceptional' Ibrox target

Rangers’ hopes of signing James McAtee in January were stymied by his current club, according to Heart & Hand. 

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has made three senior appearances for Manchester City, with The Athletic correspondent Sam Lee reporting on transfer deadline day that the teenager had rejected a loan proposal from Rangers, as well as clubs in the English Football League, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium.

The Gers were able to recruit another Premier League youngster on a temporary basis last month, with winger Amad Diallo joining from City’s local rivals Manchester United until the end of the season.

However, official Rangers media partner Heart & Hand took to Twitter to challenge The Athletic’s report, claiming that McAtee’s chances of moving to Ibrox were hindered by his club rather than the player.

Their tweet read: “James McAtee didn’t reject a loan move to Rangers. Rangers are in a long line of admirers for the player unfortunately headed by Pep Guardiola who has told him he is staying at Manchester City!”

McAtee looks a real gem. His record at under-23 level for Man City is outstanding – 44 games, 23 goals, 16 assists. It’s little wonder that Guardiola has previously described him as an “exceptional” young talent.

He seems to be too good to be playing youth football at this stage, so from that point of view it’s perhaps slightly surprising that City aren’t willing to loan him out to get him some more senior experience.

The reigning Premier League champions are said to be ‘confident’ that McAtee will sign a new contract in the coming weeks, with his current Etihad Stadium deal set to expire in less than 18 months.

If an agreement can’t be reached for whatever reason, perhaps Rangers will be one of the