Rangers in bid to land Kris Commons for £400k

Commons is out of contract at Derby this summer and it is understood the Championship club, having reached the conclusion there is no prospect of agreeing a new deal with the player, are willing to offload him now rather than lose him on a free transfer in June.

Rangers manager Walter Smith has confirmed that the Scottish champions are now in negotiations with Derby over a fee for Commons, believed to be in the region of the 400,000 received from Bursaspor for Miller last week.

"We've got the money from selling Kenny and Kris is someone we would be interested in trying to get at the present moment," said Smith. "We have made an enquiry. I don't do the deals, (chief executive] Martin Bain carries out that job, and he has been talking to Derby. We are currently in talks to see exactly what the situation is.

"Kris is in exactly the same position as Kenny was last week, where his contract expires at the end of the season."

If no deal can be struck to sign Commons before next Monday's transfer deadline, Rangers would look to secure the 27-year-old on a pre-contract agreement for the summer with Ally McCoist, in line to replace Smith as manager next season, keen to have the player on board.

Commons, who qualifies to play for Scotland through the grandparent ruling, scored his first goal in seven appearances for his country in the 3-0 friendly win over the Faroe Islands at Pittodrie in November.

He has an impressive scoring ratio for a wide player, with 67 goals in 300 first-team career appearances in English football for Stoke City, Nottingham Forest and Derby. Commons can play as a wide player, central midfielder or striker and Smith believes he would be a valuable addition for Rangers as they face up to a demanding second half of the season. "He can play in a number of positions and that's important," said Smith. "We've got such a small squad that when we get a player in, we look for them to do that."

Smith, meanwhile, was dismissive of speculation linking Rangers with loan moves for two strikers who left Ibrox last summer. Neither Kris Boyd or Nacho Novo, both struggling to make an impact at their respective current clubs Middlesbrough and Sporting Gijon, are likely to return with Smith preferring to seek fresh faces.

Although it is understood Boyd's agent has contacted Rangers to assess whether they would be interested in taking him back, there is also a financial hurdle which would prevent it.

"It's a fairly simple one (with Kris Boyd]," said Smith. "We couldn't afford to pay the wages that Middlesbrough are paying him and we're still in that position. Kris left us for a club that could pay him more money."

Smith is also keen to add a defender to his squad before next Monday night but played down a report linking him with a move for Portsmouth's 36-year-old Icelandic international Hermann Hreidarsson. Rangers would prefer to recruit a younger player. "I'm not going to take anyone that we don't really want," added Smith. "If there is an opportunity to maybe get in a defender, we'll look at that, but it has to be the right one for us. I'm not going to dive in."

Dunfermline Athletic have expressed an interest in taking Rangers young midfielder Jordan McMillan on loan, but Smith was relieved to report there has been no contact from English clubs who have been persistently linked with first-team regulars Allan McGregor, Madjid Bougherra and Steven Davis.

"There's not been one enquiry for anyone so far and I hope it stays that way," he said.