Rangers have stepped up their pursuit of Aberdeen midfielder Connor Barron as Philippe Clement continues his Ibrox rebuild this summer.

Clement completed his third deal of the close season with the capture of Clinton Nsiala on Monday. The former AC Milan defender followed Jefte and Oscar Cortes in putting pen-to-paper ahead of the new campaign.

Now the Rangers Review understands Ibrox chiefs are looking to rubber stamp a deal for Barron and fend off interest from England and Italy in the Scotland Under-21 star. Barron is out of contract this summer and will leave Pittodrie on a free transfer, although the Dons are in line to bank a compensation fee after bringing him through their youth ranks and into the first team.

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Cagliari have been heavily linked with an approach for Barron but Rangers have now moved to the head of the queue as they attempt to secure his signature. Clement is in the market for midfield reinforcements following the departures of John Lundstram and Ryan Jack and Barron is poised to make the same move that the former Reds captain did in 2017 as he swapped Pittodrie for Ibrox.

The capture of Barron would be another significant boost for Clement as he seeks to overhaul the squad that came up short in the Premiership and suffered an agonising defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Cup final last month.

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Jon McLaughlin, Borna Barisic and Kemar Roofe have also left Ibrox as Nils Koppen, the director of football recruitment, has taken the lead on transfer business. The arrival of Nsiala on a long-term deal was the latest piece of the jigsaw and Koppen said: “We are excited to add a talented young player in Clinton to the squad.

“He joins as an exciting talent who we believe can develop and take his next steps under our manager, Philippe Clement, and his staff. We look forward to welcoming Clinton to Glasgow as we continue to shape the squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.”

The Rangers Review revealed this week that Yusuf Kadabayi was also set to commit his future to Ibrox. The winger will leave Bayern Munich this summer after a loan stint at Schalke 04 and Clement is a firm admirer as he seeks to add further strength to his forward line this term.