Rangers transfer news bulletin as Connor Barron deal sparks Aberdeen FC 'surprise' while Nico Raskin drops hint

Aberdeen icon Joe Harper admits he was "surprised" to see Connor Barron sign for Rangers after leaving Pittodrie.

And he reckons that the Scotland U21 star would have been better suited following Lewis Ferguson to Serie A rather than joining the Light Blues. The 21-year-old had interest from Hellas Verona, Plymouth, Stoke, Cardiff and Swansea - while Bologna had also been keeping tabs on Barron having snapped up Scotland cap Ferguson from the Dons before his rise to superstardom in Italy.

But Rangers won the race to snap up Barron, and with the details still to be ironed out on training compensation which is due to the Reds - which looks to be in the region of £500,000 - Aberdeen legend Harper has expressed his disappointment at seeing the prospect leave the Granite City. Writing for the Press and Journal, he said: "I’m surprised that Connor Barron has signed for Rangers on a four year deal.

"The Scotland under-21 international is a superb talent and I think a move to Italy could have been very beneficial for him. Barron has the game that could really flourish in Italy. Former Aberdeen midfielder Lewis Ferguson has been a sensation since signing for Bologna in Serie A two years ago. Ferguson was recently named midfielder of the season in the Italian top flight which is a sensational achievement.

"Midfielder Ylber Ramadani has also been a major success since transferring to Serie A Lecce from Aberdeen last summer. Barron had interest from Italy and the opportunity was there to potentially follow in the footsteps of Ferguson and Ramadani. Unfortunately Barron is no longer at Aberdeen and Rangers have signed a superb talent who will only get better."

After bringing in Barron, Rangers are closing in on a deal to sign Hamza Igamane. And Foot Mercato has detailed the final hurdles that must be cleared to get the Moroccan striker in the building.

They state that the club have to agree the "final details" of a contract with the player with a £1.5million fee to be paid to FAR Rabat. It is also noted that a visa must be approved to green light the transfer.

Meanwhile, there looks set to be a number of key men heading for the Ibrox exit door. James Tavernier and Connor Goldson are being heavily touted for a move to the Saudi Pro League - while reports suggest that club chiefs will listen to offers for Todd Cantwell.

But one man who has hinted that he will survive Clement's cull this summer is Nicolas Raskin - despite being used sparingly by the boss during an injury-hampered campaign. The 23-year-old was mainly used as a substitute following the arrival of the boss - but did enjoy a run in the starting line-up to round out the campaign with John Lundstram suspended and heading for the exit door.

The Belgium U21 international set his sights on lifting the Scottish Premiership title as he talked up the impact of Clement in Govan, telling RTBF: "It's going well at Rangers. Philippe Clement has brought a fresh breath, the European way of working there.

"It's a very different football in the United Kingdom than in Europe. So for me it's good, I found the habits that I had at Standard. Next season, I hope to be able to play as much as possible and have a good European campaign, because we count on that a lot there. We want to be champions at the end of the year, that would be a great season.