Scottish Premiership heavyweights, Rangers, are desperately trying to lure Millwall centre-back, Jake Cooper. A few days ago, The Scottish Sun had reported that the Gers are willing to cough up £1.5million to lure Cooper to the Ibrox Stadium. However, Sky Sports have stated recently that Rangers have placed a bid of £3million to secure his services.
Rangers are breathing a new life under the tutelage of Steven Gerrard. The former Liverpool skipper has had a busy summer so far in trying to mould the squad according to his requirements and has already made some notable signings like Allan McGregor, Jon Flanagan, Scott Arfield and Connor Goldson to enhance the quality of his arsenal. He is apparently keen to make some more additions and the rumours involving Cooper are picking up steam despite a stony silence by Millwall.
Bruno Alves, who played as the central defender and also the role of a commander at the back, has left for Parma after the club and the player terminated his contract by mutual consent. Thus, it isn’t surprising to see Gerrard trying to inject more resilience into his defence despite having signed Goldson and Nikola Katic.
Cooper has drawn a lot of attention after his commendable displays in the EFL Championship with Millwall last season. The 23-year-old mustered 4 goals and 3 assists in 38 league outings and this is really good considering his position on the pitch. Besides, he also made 0.7 tackles, 0.6 interceptions, 6.9 clearances and 0.7 blocks per game on an average and he showcased a lot of work-ethic at the back for the Lions.
Millwall finished at the 8th spot in the league standings with 72 points to their name and missed out on a playoff spot by just 3 points. Their defence was one of the best in the English second division last season and Cooper played a key role in it. Having initially joined Millwall on loan from Reading in January 2017, he made a permanent switch to The Den last summer and featured regularly for his employers.
He might not be a finished product yet as tackling, decision making and passing are a few aspects he needs to work on but he certainly has the calibre to better his credentials in the coming seasons. Millwall are reluctant to lose one of their prized assets but the bid of £3million from the Light Blues is definitely going to test their resolve and it will be interesting to see what the future has in store for the promising English starlet.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored