Southampton FC leading Rangers, Russell Martin in Crystal Palace transfer race | OneFootball

Southampton and Rangers have both been linked with a move to sign Jesurun Rak-Sakyi this summer

Southampton are leading the race to sign Jesurun Rak-Sakyi from Crystal Palace this summer amid Rangers interest.

According to Football Insider, the Saints have the edge in the pursuit of the winger in the transfer market.

It was reported back in June that the Hampshire outfit are keen on a deal to sign the 22-year-old ahead of their return to the Championship.

Rak-Sakyi spent last season on loan with Sheffield United, where he contributed seven goals and two assists from 34 appearances, with the Blades narrowly missing out on promotion to the Premier League.

Southampton edge Rangers in Rak-Sakyi chase

Former Manchester United scout Mick Brown has claimed that Southampton are leading the race to sign Rak-Sakyi ahead of Rangers.

He believes that the finances involved could be tricky for the Glasgow outfit, which gives Will Still’s side an advantage this summer.

“Rangers have been looking at signing Rak-Sakyi,” said Brown, via Football Insider.

“The manager there is a big fan of him and thinks he can do a job at that level.

“We’ve spoken before about Southampton’s interest, but I don’t think they’re the only ones in the Championship having a look at him.

“Clubs have had scouts looking at him so they’ll know all about what he can and can’t do.

“I’m not sure he really put a marker down at Sheffield United, which would be a bit of a worry for me, but it hasn’t put clubs off of him.

“So for Rangers, it will depend on how much the deal is going to be.

“Clubs in the Championship will be able to spend more money than they will, and if Palace are asking for around £10million, it could be difficult.

“They’ll want a loan move, but again it depends on whether Palace are open to that.

“If somebody like a Southampton comes along with a £10 million offer, that’s going to put Rangers out of contention, so I think they could miss out.”

Rak-Sakyi has struggled to break into the Crystal Palace first team squad, but it remains to be seen whether Oliver Glasner would be willing to sanction a permanent sale.

The winger has a contract with the Eagles until the summer of 2027, meaning he could still go out on loan for another year without risking an exit as a free agent.

Southampton’s summer plans

Southampton have already completed permanent signings this summer for Damion Downs and Joshua Quarshie.

The Saints will be looking to make further additions as they target automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

The likes of Kamaldeen Sulemana, Samuel Amo-Ameyaw and Kyle Walker-Peters have all departed St. Mary’s since the club suffered relegation from the top flight.

Still’s first competitive game in charge as manager will come on 9 August with a home clash against Wrexham.

Rak-Sakyi signing could make sense depending on departures

Southampton’s attacking options are a bit lop-sided at the moment, with Still having a lot of strikers to choose from.

The likes of Ben Brereton Diaz and Adam Armstrong can also play out wide, but they also have Cameron Archer, Downs and Ross Stewart available in the squad.

So adding Rak-Sakyi without any departures could be simply too many bodies for the upcoming season.

But if they remove a couple of players and reshape the options at their disposal, then bringing in another natural right-winger could give them better balance.