Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has already backed Rangers goalkeeper Robby McCrorie to become the Scottish giants' first choice goalkeeper amid reports linking him with a move to Manchester United.
According to a report by The Sun, United manager Erik ten Hag has set his sights on adding the 24-year-old to his squad this summer if Dean Henderson leaves the club. Henderson is the subject of interest from Nottingham Forest and the Premier League newcomers are in talks to sign him on loan.
If Henderson seals a move to the City Ground, or indeed elsewhere, United's goalkeeping department from last season will be halved, with Lee Grant retiring. David de Gea and Tom Heaton will be Ten Hag's two senior options.
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The addition of a new goalkeeper to provide support and competition for De Gea will be vitally important. McCrorie has emerged as a surprise target, particularly given he has only made two senior appearances for Rangers.
Both of those outings came at the very start of last season, but he recorded clean sheets in each of them, including in a 1-0 win over Old Firm rivals Celtic in September. After the match, former Gers boss Gerrard waxed lyrical about the former Queen of the South loanee, insisting he had no concerns about the prospect of him succeeding Allan McGregor as the club's first-choice goalkeeper in the future.
"Robby's always been in my thoughts," said Gerrard, speaking last September. "We've always had a plan for him, and that's not just in the last two weeks.
"We think he's got the potential to one day be a Rangers number one. And even more, in the short term, when Allan moves on, to be one of our main goalkeepers.
"Robby and his people know our plan. He was outstanding over a couple of weeks, but those performances have come on the back of how he returned on day one.
"He's come back in fantastic shape, trained well, seems to have a bit more maturity about how he goes about his work. I'd have no doubts about using him again at any given time."
McCrorie, who recently earned his first Scotland call-up, is out-of-contract at Ibrox in a year's time, meaning this summer could represent Rangers' last opportunity to cash-in on his services.
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