In-demand Saint-Etienne winger Denis Bouanga has been "approached" by Rangers, according to a report in France. The 27-year-old Gabon international is set to leave the French club following their relegation to Ligue 2.
Among clubs named as interested parties are Los Angeles, Anderlecht, Club Brugge and - according to Le 10 Sport - Rangers. The report states no agreement has been reached with any club, but that MLS outfit LAFC - who signed Gareth Bale earlier in the window - have tabled the highest offer at around €3.5million.
But Saint-Etienne are believed to be holding out for closer to €5m as Bouanga enters the final year of his contract. The attacker was reportedly close to joining Lille earlier in the summer. Bouanga has spent his entire career in France, turning out for Lorient and Nimes before Saint-Etienne, while also being loaned to Strasbourg and Tours. He also has 32 caps for Gabon to his name, appearing at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations as Les Panthères lost to Burkina Faso on penalties in the last 16.
It’s not yet clear if this approach was before the signings of Rabbi Matondo and Tom Lawrence. Meanwhile, Calvin Bassey has revealed he turned down a "safer option" in the form of a return to England before signing for Ajax. The Nigeria international banked Rangers a club record fee with his move to the Eredivisie champions, who outbid Brighton in the race to sign the defender.
And Bassey said: He said: "I was doing pre-season with Rangers and focussing on the new season and getting in shape. Then I was told by my agent that the great Ajax wanted me!
"I didn't count on anything. Many things can go wrong in transfers and there was interest from other clubs too. But when I saw how hard Ajax were working to sign me, I got really excited.
"I discussed it with my family and tried to keep calm even though I was very excited about the move because it's only completed when everything is signed.Returning to England might have been the safest option for me and of course, I know the language and the Premier League is a great competition. But it did not outweigh my desire to move to Ajax.
"I am grateful to Rangers for everything and very happy that I can play now for Ajax. It's been overwhelming since I arrived. Ajax feels like one big family to me. The way I was received by the players and the people around the team immediately felt very good."
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