Rangers blew Sheffield United out of the water in the race for Tom Lawrence with a bumper offer and the chance of European football, according a report.
The Blades were in the hunt for the former Derby County captain to help them with their English Championship promotion bid but Giovannni van Bronckhorst looks to have won the race with the 28-year-old set to become the third new face to join the squad this summer. And Yorkshire Live say that Lawrence informed Bramall Lane boss and former Hibs gaffer Paul Heckingbottom of his decision to head to Ibrox.
They state: “United were confident they were leading the race and that Lawrence was keen to join. Yet, Rangers' lucrative offer and the chance to play European football saw Lawrence opt for the switch north of the border. There were several Championship clubs in for the 28-year-old, including Watford, but Lawrence had chosen United over those.
“After talking with Heckingbottom, he was impressed with how the Blades boss sold the club to him and what he could offer from a football point of view. It was only Rangers' intervention that stopped him from making the switch to Bramall Lane. In the end, United could not compete with the deal from the Scottish giants, whose proposal was simply too good for the player to turn down.”
Lawrence is poised to sign a deal at Ibrox and follow Antonio Colak, who has joined up with his new team-mates in their pre-season training camp in Portugal and John Souttar who signed a pre-contract in January to join from Hearts. The former Rams forward chose to leave Pride Park with the club in financial chaos and preparing for life in League One.
The lure of a crack at Champions League football and guaranteed Europa League group stage football looks to have swung it in Rangers’ favour as he prepares for a huge season with Wales set for the World Cup in Qatar this winter. He started his career at Manchester United but couldn’t make the first team breakthrough and had various loan spells before moving to Leicester City and again more loans followed before a switch to Derby County.
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