“Has enjoyed a standout season” – Rangers join West Ham and others in pursuit of EFL player: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Rangers have joined West Ham United and a string of other Premier League clubs in the race for Stoke City forward Jacob Brown, Football League World has exclusively revealed.

Brown is set to enter the final 12 months of his contract and it is understood that the Potters are keen to agree an extension with growing interest in the 24-year-old.

Rangers are among the sides keen but would that be a good signing? And is he ready for the Scottish top flight?

We quizzed our FLW writers for their thoughts…

Adam Jones

This could be a great deal for Rangers in their quest to be dominant north of the border – because he has the goalscoring pedigree to be effective in the Scottish Premiership.

Whether they will be able to afford him remains to be seen though, although the fact his contract runs out in 2023 could allow them to purchase him for less than some would expect.

From the player’s perspective though, will he hit his ceiling in the Scottish top tier quite early on in his Rangers career? Perhaps so and this is part of the reason why Ryan Christie moved away from Celtic.

This is why a move to Ibrox may not be the best career move for the 24-year-old at this stage.

Justin Peach

Jacob Brown has enjoyed a standout season for Stoke and has been one of Stoke’s most consistent players this season.

With 12 goals in 42 appearances in the league, it’s unsurprising to see the versatile attacker linked with moves elsewhere. Brown is a hardworking team player who would be an asset to most squads, so the Rangers link makes sense with their domestic and European commitments.

In addition, his stock has risen massively after making his Scotland debut last November, ensuring Stoke will have the upper hand when it comes to negotiations.

With Brown showing his ability to lead the line for Stoke this season, a move to a bigger club like Rangers would make sense for him. Importantly, given Stoke’s need to keep finances tight aftee a few years of high spending, a reasonable bid could see Brown head to Ibrox.

Stoke City quiz: Does the Bet365 Stadium have a bigger or smaller capacity than these 20 stadiums?

1 of 20

1. Bramall Lane (Sheffield United)

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Ben Wignall

With Brown now a Scotland international, his profile and stock will have risen – especially with the Old Firm.

Some Stoke fans believe that Brown has been one of the club’s players of the season in what has been a pretty underwhelming campaign, and even though he’s got double figures in terms of goals in the league with 12, the forward brings more than than to a team.

He’s a hard-working individual who the Rangers fans would probably grow to love, and at the age of 24 he still has time to develop, so in that sense he could be a good signing as a striker for the Gers.

With one year left on his contract going into this summer, Stoke are perhaps a sitting duck when it comes to potential bids coming in and they cannot be expected to hold out for a massive fee for Brown despite his goal tally, and he should be well within Rangers’ price range if they want him.