Former Wales manager Brian Flynn believes reported director of football target Mark Allen could be a major coup for Rangers.
The Scottish Sun claimed on Wednesday that Rangers were on the verge of completing a deal to make the Manchester City managing director their latest new arrival at Ibrox.
Allen, 54, has been a key figure at the Etihad for almost a decade, arriving at the Premier League giants as part of the Sheikh Mansour takeover in 2008.
He has been responsible for the wholesale shake-up of Manchester City’s youth and academy setup, which is now widely regarded as one of the most successful in England.
But he now looks set to seal a move to the Glasgow giants in Scotland, and Welsh international icon Flynn insists Allen can help Rangers identify the best young players.
He told the Daily Record: “It is easy to say you have the money to do it and City have the riches to take the best but you still have to pick the right players and get that side of it correct.
“You still need to have the right staff to help you with this and you still need to have that ambition to be the best. To me, Mark has all of those qualities. He’s not afraid to do that extra hour or that extra day to improve things at City.
“I’m sure he’ll do the same things at Rangers. In fact I am certain of it. He has been impressive throughout his time at City. If it happens it is a major coup for Rangers.”
The latest success story to emerge through the Manchester City youth ranks is Kelechi Iheanacho, who joined Allen’s massively revamped academy setup in 2014.
The 20-year-old striker made his first-team debut at the start of the 2015-16 season, and his since made 64 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 21 goals.
He has also a fully-established senior Nigeria international, having scored six goals from 10 caps.
Rangers, meanwhile, have a number of promising young players within their ranks, including midfielder Liam Burt and defender Aidan Wilson.
But they will be alarmed at the departure of one of their most promising assets in 15-year-old wonderkid Billy Gilmour, who joined Chelsea at the end of last season.