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Rangers are interested in signing Bolton Wanderers' midfield prospect Luca Connell, according to The Daily Mail.

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What's the story?

With Connell's contract set to expire at the end of June, the paper say a number of clubs are keen on his services, including Steven Gerrard's side.

Bolton are not in a position to extend his contract given their current financial problems, according to the report, and the club's administrators are set to recoup any compensation fee available for the 18-year-old.

Bursting into the first-team this season and making a dozen appearances in the English Championship and FA Cup, any interested party could be getting an exciting talent on their hands for a budget price.

Should Rangers bite?

Such a deal may be tempting for a club like Rangers, especially since Gerrard seems keen on building a young squad full of players who know what it takes to play in British football.

However, Connell plays in central midfield and that's one of the last positions that needs to be strengthened at Ibrox right now.

With classy operators like Ryan Jack, Scott Arfield, Steven Davis and Glen Kamara all impressing in the middle of the park this season, competition for places is already fierce.

Young guns

Rangers also have young players like Greg Docherty and Jordan Rossiter returning from loans in the English lower leagues, both of whom have won plaudits for their performances.

Docherty in particular appears to be a real talent, shining in English League One with Shrewsbury Town. He played a massive 50 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and assisting 11 times.

Gerrard simply must reward progress like that with an opportunity in pre-season and early European qualifiers this summer, rather than going out and signing more bodies to compete for places.