Stoke And Sunderland Boosted As Rangers Face Hurdle In Chase | OneFootball

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Glasgow giants Rangers face an issue before they can move for Stoke City and Sunderland target Ishe Samuels-Smith as they look to ship out at least one player before pursuing a loan deal, according to journalist Mark Hendry.

Samuels-Smith has been a regular for Chelsea’s youth teams but is yet to be handed his senior debut by Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge.

The 45-year-old, though, has kept Samuels-Smith under his supervision, naming him on the bench for a few occasions.

The Pensioners now believe that a loan move is the right step in the youngster’s career right now and options are being explored.

Clubs from England are keen on signing the 19-year-old temporarily for next season, with Premier League new boys Sunderland linked, along with Championship side Stoke City.

Russell Martin’s Rangers have reached out to Chelsea to convince them that a move to Ibrox is the best career decision for the youngster at this point in time.

However, the Gers first need to move at least one player out of the club before making space in the squad for Samuels-Smith.

That could be a big boost for Sunderland, who have been hugely active of late, and Stoke, as they look to see off competition from Rangers for the left-back.

Samuels-Smith would be looking to play wherever he goes and that means interested clubs will have to put compelling projects to him, in which he is getting the game time he wants.

With Sunderland and Rangers both having big pressure on their shoulders next season, as the Black Cats look to survive and the Gers chase Celtic, that could be to Stoke’s benefit.

The Potters could give the Chelsea youngster an opportunity to feature regular in the Championship without the huge weigh of expectation of the other two clubs.

How Chelsea view the best destination for their starlet is unclear, but they will also want to see him play.

Rangers have Jefte and Ridvan Yilmaz as left-back options at the moment, but Yilmaz has consistently been linked with a return to his native Turkey.

Intriguingly, Chelsea showed interest in signing Jefte in the winter transfer window earlier this year, adding another complex factor to the mix.