Nick Cushing delivered a coy response over a possible return to New York City for Rangers loanee James Sands.
The USA international made the switch to Glasgow last January under Giovanni van Bronckhorst on an 18-month loan deal with an option to buy. He's played in midfield and across the back during the Light Blues' injury crisis. But game time has been much more limited under Michael Beale with the arrival of Nicolas Raskin pushing him further down the pecking order.
When asked to address rumours of Sands coming back, he said: "I don't think it's right to discuss individual players and especially players who aren't in our squad. I think for us, there are many negotiations going on across all of our squad. Recruitment at the moment is a big focus of ours. But I do not want to comment on individual situations."
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The 22-year-old, capped seven times by his country, has featured 25 times in all competitions for Rangers so far this season. However, minutes have been harder to come by of late with key men such as Connor Goldson and Ben Davies back in defence with midfield options leaving strength and depth in the squad.
Speaking last month about Sands, Beale said: “James Sands has had a bit of a knock. He was listed on the bench for Dundee United but once we got to the stadium he didn’t feel right. “He hasn’t trained this week . He’s had a slight muscle issue.
“To be fair to James he’s had to play mostly at centre-back, even going back to the PSV games which were fantastic results.
“He came in as a guy to play in midfield and can play as a centre back if required and he has done that more than we expected.
“So I would like to give him an opportunity to play in his more favoured position before we make any decision on that one."
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