SHOCKING MEWS;Ranger head coach receive a heartbreak

Porto president Andre Villas-Boas has rejected a £5million bid from Rangers for winger Goncalo Borges, according to O Jogo.

The report (30 July, page 2) suggests that Porto need to raise money in the transfer window but are looking for a higher offer for the 23-year-old with the likes of Strasbourg and Lille interested – the former transfer viewed as potential springboard to Chelsea given the clubs share the same ownership group.

It comes after a further report that Rangers were set to miss out on Borges, implying that a deal was close to being struck with Strasbourg (L’Equipe, 29 July).

Rangers push to raise funds

One thing that seems clear is Rangers’ need to raise more funds to bring some of their top targets in.

While they’re certainly in the hunt for a handful of exciting attacking players, with Philippe Clement leading the charge, there is a clear reality at play – the Scottish giants need to sell some of their squad members if they want to make some real noise.

One source of that could be the sale of Todd Cantwell. The playmaker has asked to leave Ibrox twice (Sky Sports, 25 July) and given the continued mixed reactions of Rangers fans, it doesn’t seem as if they’d be too devastated to see him depart.

Of course, it’s all about finding the right balancing act. Clement is well aware of the deficiencies they face in the final third and he’s doing everything to address that, but situations like Borges highlight just how much extra investment is required in order to mount a fresh Scottish Premiership title bid this season.

In other Rangers news, the club has secured themselves an unexpected multimillion pound transfer profit that could have been even greater.

It is claimed the 25-year-old’s value has only dropped after a miserable year since joining the Light Blues and he was worth far more than that prior to moving to Glasgow.