Rangers were linked with a move to sign Declan Rudd in October, and yet his Preston contract situation remains up in the air.
Rudd has been North End’s first-choice goalkeeper throughout the season, and has never really been under real pressure from Connor Ripley, who was brought in during the January 2019 transfer window.
Preston were linked with other goalkeepers over the summer, but Rudd has impressed this season, enjoying arguably his best campaign as a North End player.
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The problem for Preston is that Rudd is out of contract this summer, with no new deal agreed to keep him at Deepdale beyond the end of the season.
Back in October, Football Insider claimed that Rangers want to sign Rudd, and as he’s now inside the final six months of his contract, he would actually be able to sign a pre-contract deal with the Gers right now.
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Rangers already have Allan McGregor in goal, but with Wes Foderingham out of contract this summer, Rudd may be offered the chance to play as backup for Steven Gerrard’s side.
Preston are leaving it late if they want to keep Rudd, and boss Alex Neil has now been asked for his view on the 29-year-old’s future at Deepdale.
Neil has told Lancs Live that there are a number of contracts he would like to get sorted soon, suggesting that Rudd is one of them – but other than offer recommendations to the club, he doesn’t have too much involvement in contracts and the money being offered.
“There’s quite a few obviously with open ends in terms of contracts that we’d like to get sorted,” said Neil. “To be honest all I can do is make recommendations and then from that point it’s up to the player, agent and club to sit down and get it resolved. Obviously I’ll try to push that as much as I can but I don’t have complete control over the contracts.”
“I don’t deal with money, if you know what I mean, so the money’s not in my bag. I focus on the team, getting the team ready and obviously I recommend who I want to sign and get things done that way. But in terms of what the cash is, that’s not my sort of area,” he added.