Rangers eye Davies as replacement for Bassey

RANGERS are closing in on a deal for Liverpool defender Ben Davies as Calvin Bassey prepares to clinch his £20 million move to Ajax.

Boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst confirmed on Saturday that he was now in the market for defensive reinforcements after Bassey was left out of the squad for the win over Blackpool.

Davies has emerged as a prime target for Rangers and talks are at an advanced stage to complete a £4m switch and bring him to Ibrox in the coming days.

The 26-year-old was previously firmly in Celtic’s sights before he joined Liverpool from Preston North End in February last year.

Davies has found opportunities hard to come by at Anfield, though, and he spent last season on loan in the Championship as he made 21 appearances for Sheffield United.

The Englishman will now be allowed to leave on a permanent basis and Rangers have moved to the head of the queue to sign the versatile stopper who can play at left-back or centre-back.

A deal for Davies would see Rangers move quickly to replace Bassey as he edges closer to a recordbreaking exit from Ibrox that will see him pen a long-term deal with the Dutch giants.

The Nigerian internationalist became a stalwart for Van Bronckhorst’s side during the second half of the campaign and turned in man-ofthe-match showings in the Europa League and Scottish Cup finals.

His exit leaves Van Bronckhorst with Borna Barisic as his only recognised left-back and the Croatian continued his preparations for the new campaign with a solid showing at Bloomfield Road on Saturday.

Barisic opened the scoring with a rare right-footed strike as he cut in from the flank and produced an accomplished finish before Charlie McCann clinched the win with a drive from distance.

Van Bronckhorst said: “Borna has played well and the way he scored – we lost the ball and he won it back and his shot was great.

“Also the shot from Charlie for the second goal – we don’t score those goals last season, shooting from distance.”