Morgan Whittaker: Rangers target, contract, bid rejected, impressive loan spell and Manchester City goal

Rangers are reportedly one of a number of clubs interested in Swansea City star Morgan Whittaker – and the Welsh side have already rejected a bid for the forward.

The link with the Ibrox side comes from WalesOnline. The Ibrox club have suffered injury headaches with their current striking options with Kemar Roofe set for another spell on the sidelines after injuring a shoulder in the Viaplay Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen and Antonio Colak having sat out of the match.

Whittaker has been recalled by Swansea after a very impressive loan spell with Plymouth Argyle in the English third tier. He has a combined 16 goals and assists in 25 League One appearances, the second highest total, helping the Pilgrims to the top of the table.

The 22-year-old has displayed his versatility, playing as a support forward, central attacking midfielder and wide on the right, supplying ammunition for former Rangers striker Ryan Hardie and ex-Aberdeen star Sam Cosgrove. He has averaged 0.43 goals per 90 minutes and 0.34 assists per 90. He is positive with the ball, keen to dribble but also adept at setting up team-mates with 1.35 shots assists per 90.

His form for Plymouth, who were keen for the player to extend his stay, has attracted interest from both Ipswich Town and West Brom, while there has already been a bid rejected by Swansea, reportedly from Rangers which was “quite some way short”.

Swansea signed the player to a four-and-a-half year contract when they brought him in from Derby County two years ago for an undisclosed fee, scoring his first goal for the club against Manchester City. Former Rangers centre-back and current Swans boss Russell Martin is still trying to decide what to do with the player, whether it is retaining him or allowing him to depart.

"Morgan is probably not going to be involved at the weekend," Martin said last week. "With that looming over his head, we need to see where that's going to go. We don't want this to drag on and cost him another opportunity to play. If he plays one minute for us he then can't go. It's disappointing for us and Morgan. I've been really pleased with him since he's come back. Hopefully that'll be resolved very quickly."