Sheffield United’s John Lundstram has been linked with a move north. According to the Scottish Sun, Rangers seem more than willing to have him on-board and are already preparing a pre-contract agreement in the winter.
The Sheffield United midfielder is not keen on signing a new contract with the club, with just a year remaining on his current one and the Blades risk losing the player for free next summer. Rangers are one of three clubs who are keeping a close eye on Lundstram’s contract situation, the other two being West Ham and Burnley.
Gers boss Steven Gerrard has been very open about the need for a new midfielder for his team this summer and the search is certainly on. John Lundstram could be the perfect type of player Rangers are missing right now.
Among Rangers’ current squad, Ryan Jack keeps hold of the play, brings full-backs into the game, and controls the flow of matches. Steven Davis is a similar player who can keep control of the ball and find spaces, while Glen Kamara is a great ball-player and can make long passes and stretch the opponent backline. Scott Arfield, Joe Aribo, and Ianis Hagi are more creative, but they tend to play further forward i.e. in the final third of the pitch.
John Lundstram would certainly offer something different to Gerrard’s current midfield players. The Sheffield United ace can play as a central defensive midfielder and also as a CAM, hence getting a box-to-box midfielder for free would surely work in Gerrard’s favour.
Lundstram has been a vital player in the resurgence of Sheffield United and helped the Premier League club to an unexpected 9th place finish. The 26-year-old has been a regular starter for Chris Wilder’s side, but he might be considering his future after the arrival of young Norwegian Sander Berge.
Although Rangers could face tough competition from other Premier League clubs for his signature, the presence of Steven Gerrard at Ibrox could tip the scales for the Gers. John Lundstram grew up as a Liverpool supporter and the opportunity to work under the Liverpool legend might convince the Scouse-born midfielder to make the move north.
Lundstram just has one year left on his current contract with Sheffield and Gerrard and Ross Wilson will try to convince him to sign for them on a pre-contract in January. However, Sheffield boss Chris Wilder is still hopeful that Lundstram would sign a new contract and end up staying with the Blades
Speaking about John Lundstram, Wilder said:
“I’ve made it clear about John and the situation. I’d love him to sign a new contract, and you never know, he might.”
“It’s a bit of a waiting game, to be honest. But there’s no downside to him putting it all anyway. He sees his immediate future here and he’ll get my backing so I hope he gets backing from everyone else as well.”
Now, it’s just a waiting game. Only time will tell about the future of John Lundstram, but one thing is certain that if the player joins Rangers, it would be a massive coup for Steven Gerrard and his team.