Rangers news bulletin as John Lundstram exit 'green lit' and Filip Helander breaks silence on having armband removed

Trabzonspor are reportedly stepping up their interest in John Lundstram as the midfielder nears the end of his Rangers' contract.

The 30-year-old has been locked in talks over a new deal with the Scottish Premiership side, but with no agreement in place the Scouser is free to leave Ibrox at the end of the season. Reports had suggested that English Premier League hopefuls Ipswich Town are eyeing the Scouser while they chase promotion from the Championship but the Super Lig side are said to leading the race for a deal.

Trabzonspor are said to be attempting to reach "an agreement in principle" with boss Abdullah Avci giving the green light for a contract offer to be made. Speaking after the Scottish Cup semi-final win over Hearts, boss Philippe Clement admitted there had been no further talks with the midfielder over a new deal. He said: “There have not been any more talks now.

"For the moment, there will be in the future. I know both sides love each other so I expect a solution at the end.”

Elsewhere, former Rangers' defender Filip Helander insists that losing the captaincy at OB Odense is "not a big deal". The former Ibrox defender had been made captain at the Danish club after arriving in the summer upon the expiry of his Rangers deal.

But after struggling for form he has been dropped from the starting line-up and stripped of the armband. Speaking to Bold, he said: "Well, it is the club's decision. The results have not been so good, and then you will try to change things - for me it is not a big deal. We have a captain group with me, Bashkim (Kadrii), Trybull and Hansen, and I think that Bashkim is a good captain, as he has been at the club for a long time and he knows what it means to people. So for me it's not a big deal, I try to be the same person all the time."

Rangers are also said to be set to lose academy director Zeb Jacobs to Feyenoord. The Ibrox club recruited the Belgian three years ago to become Head of Academy Coaching and then promoted him last summer to his new role.

But Dutch giants Feyenoord have targeted Jacobs to replace former Twente Enschede and Rosenborg boss Rini Coolen, who is leaving at the end of the season, to be their new academy chief. And reports in the Netherlands have suggested Jacobs has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave with just a month's notice if he is approached by a club.

Rangers misfit Jose Cifuentes has finally started a game for Cruzeiro two-and-a-half months after leaving Ibrox on loan. And the Ecuadorian midfielder admitted he has to improve.

He said: "I personally need to improve a lot of things. I know that. I need to make better decisions on the pitch when I have come on previously. I think you could say that about a lot of our team though because we should have won that game. We all need to be self-critical and evaluate what we lacked and where we still need to improve."