Rangers face Connor Barron transfer gamble as spectre of tribunal for Aberdeen midfielder looms

Rangers will have to pay more than the £500,000 plus training compensation to Aberdeen or take a gamble on a tribunal if they want to sign Connor Barron.

The Ibrox side has been interested for several months but the Scotland under-21 cap had been weighing up his options with offers in England and strong interest in Italy. Barron is set to go out of contract this month and if he was to move outside of Scotland then Aberdeen would be entitled to just over £500,000 in training compensation. That figure does not hold in Scotland and unless the two clubs could agree compensation then any fee would be decided by an independent tribunal. That is unlikely to value Barron, who came right through the Dons Academy, at less than the training compensation.

The chances are that Rangers could be asked to pay significantly more as Dundee United previously found out to their cost when they signed Charlie Telfer from the Light Blues a few years back. It puts Aberdeen in a strong position and they can hold out for an enhanced fee and other potential add-ons and sell-on that wouldn’t be on offer if Barron was to leave Scotland.

Rangers need to boost their quota of homegrown players for Europe and the 21-year-old fits the bill. A source close to the deal last night insisted that nothing had been agreed and there were still several clubs at the table.

Italian sides Cagliari and Sassuolo were interested but that has cooled as Claudio Ranieri has stepped down from the former and the latter has been relegated from Serie A. Bologna were also watching Barron closely but that hasn’t been firmed up either with their boss Thiago Motta going to Juventus.

There is also English interest where the likes of Coventry City, Cardiff City and Swansea are also