Former Glasgow Rangers defender Alan Hutton has delivered his verdict on the interest from Giovani van Bronckhorst and Ibrox in signing Israel youth international Oscar Gloukh.
The lowdown: Gers interested
Following a report from the Daily Record claiming that the Glasgow giants were keen on signing the 18-year-old, Maccabi Tel-Aviv have placed an £8million price tag on the midfielder.
Already capped on three occasions by Israel at the Under 21 level, Gloukh has also made 10 senior domestic outings despite his fledgeling years.
Upon hearing about the interest from the Europa League runners-up and Espanyol, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund, one invested onlooker has reacted to the possibility of the teenager becoming a Ger next season.
The latest: 'Huge risk'
Speaking to Football Insider, regular Rangers TV pundit Hutton - who made 111 appearances for the club - claimed that this is a transfer thwart with danger, despite hearing of his glowing displays for Israel.
He said:
“It’s a difficult decision for him. Any player wants to play at the highest level. Obviously he’s only 18, I heard that he’d lit it up for Israel in the European Championships.
“I don’t know an awful lot about him but I think when you’re talking that amount of money from Rangers, it’s going to be difficult. It’s a huge risk, it’s a huge gamble. Some of the elite teams within European football, they can maybe afford to take a bigger gamble than Rangers can.
“It has to be a sure thing if you’re that size of transfer fee so I do think it would be a risk for Rangers to go ahead and pay that sort of money, even though all indications point to him being a real talented football player.”
The verdict: Steer clear
Albeit clearly a player of immense talent given the levels of interest at such a tender age, delving into the coffers and spending anything close to the mooted asking price for a teenager who holds a market value of £450,000 (Transfermarkt), would most certainly be a concerning move from the Rangers hierarchy even with the imminent windfall from the sale of Joe Aribo.
Still unproven over a prolonged period at any level, the Israeli attacking midfielder remains a prospect at present and far from a player Van Bronckorst could put any level of faith in when it comes to performing in the Scottish Premiership and in Europe.
Ultimately, the club would be best served to heed the advice of Hutton and take a watching brief of Gloukh, for now, to allow the pursuit of ready-made first-team operators to take priority given the financial constraints.