Connor Barron to Rangers transfer imminent as Gers set to complete double swoop

Rangers are poised to complete a double swoop for Connor Barron and Liam Kelly.

Gers have won the race to sign out-of-contract Aberdeen starlet Connor Barron, who has his heart set on a move to Ibrox after turning down approaches from England and Italy. Hellas Verona attempted to lure the 21-year-old to Serie A by offering the midfielder a chance to follow in the footsteps of former player Josh Doig, who has taken Italian football by storm.

But Barron has decided to stay in the Premiership after discussions with Philippe Clement and director of football recruitment Nils Koppen. The Scotland under-21 kid's imminent move means the Light Blues will have to negotiate a training compensation fee with Aberdeen, who would have been guaranteed £525,000 if their homegrown talent moved outside Scotland.

Barron will be joined at Ibrox by out-of-contract Motherwell keeper Kelly. It's expected the goalkeeper, 28, will finalise his switch when he returns from the Euros with Scotland. Kelly came through the ranks at Ibrox before following ex-boss Mark Warburton for a two-year spell at QPR.

He later returned north of the border with Well where he was appointed club captain and racked up more than 150 appearances. Kelly will provide competition for current No1 Jack Butland, with Robby McCrorie likely to move on in search of first-team football. Veteran Jon McLaughlin has also exited following the expiry of his contract.