According to The Scottish Sun, Rangers winger Jordan Jones could be used in a part-exchange deal for Preston ace Daniel Johnson.
The Gers have been pursuing Johnson over the last week, but have seemingly yet to strike a final deal with North End.
The 27-year-old was left out of last weekend’s 1-0 home defeat to Swansea City, but came off the bench to score the winner against Derby County on Tuesday night.
That seemed to be a strong message from North End that Rangers can’t bully them into a deal, despite Johnson’s contract predicament.
Johnson is out of contract at the end of the season, and Preston have so far been unable to thrash out a new deal for the playmaker.
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Rangers can therefore sign Johnson to a pre-contract agreement in January, meaning they’re piling the pressure on Preston to sell now.
This latest report is interesting, as it claims that Preston are keen on winger Jones – and would at least be open to him being included in a deal for Johnson.
This isn’t the first time Preston have been linked with Jones; back in 2017, the Daily Mail reported that North End were tracking him at Kilmarnock.
Jones joined Rangers in 2019, but has failed to make any sort of impression under Steven Gerrard and has been told he can leave this summer.
The 25-year-old is rapid, but his end product has been hit-and-miss, and his lack of impact at Rangers – where Brandon Barker is in the first team – is something of a red flag.
A Northern Ireland international, Jones can bring speed to the Preston side, but he isn’t so good that Preston should drop their asking price for Johnson by anything more than around £500k-£750k.