Rangers have been given permission by Queens Park Rangers to hold talks with Michael Beale.
The Ibrox club are keen to bring the former coach back to Glasgow in order to replace Gio van Bronckhorst, who was sacked last Monday. Record Sport exclusively revealed that R’s director of football Les Ferdinand would not stand in Beale’s way if the Glasgow giants came calling. Ferdinand also confirmed that £1.5million in compensation will be due if Beale accepts.
That has now happened and talks between Beale and the club are progressing, with the ex-Ibrox coach set to make the switch back to Scotland, barring any dramatic late twists. Just in case, the Gers have also contacted Botafogo boss Luis Castro, according to reports in Brazil. But Beale is their number one choice and will likely return to the top job just over a year after departing for Aston Villa with Steven Gerrard, who has since been sacked by the Midlands club after a poor run of form.
Beale decided to go it alone last summer and left Villa Park to take over at Loftus Road. Wolves made an approach to poach the former Liverpool academy coach after sacking Bruno Lage. But Beale knocked back the Molineux club, insists QPR deserved his loyalty after giving him his opportunity in the dugout.
But that stance appears to have shifted in little over a month since Wolves failed in their bid. Beale said last summer that no-one could turn down Rangers when asked about a potential return during his unveiling by QPR. Now he’s set to try and re-start Rangers’ title bid after falling nine points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Beale could be in position by the time the Rangers squad return to training next week. Who will join him as part oa new-look backroom staff remains unclear. Dom Ball told Record Sport that former Rangers captain and QPR teammate Lee Wallace as the perfect fit under Beale.
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