West Brom set for Aston Villa, Sunderland AFC & Cardiff City transfer battle – it involves Rangers man

West Brom prepared for Aston Villa, Sunderland AFC & Cardiff City transfer war – it involves Rangers guy

This has been claimed by the Daily Mail’s Simon Jones, with Rice attracting a number of suitors considering he is poised to depart Ibrox as a free agent at the end of the 2025-26 campaign. The Baggies’ administration are preparing a squad revamp over the next seasons as they aim to restore the Black Country outfit’s fortunes and fight for a return to the Premier League. Albion already have a number of first-team players poised to leave the Hawthorns for free on the expiration of their contracts, including Daryl Dike, Josh Maja, Karlan Grant and Ousmane Diakite.

Heading into next season, regardless of which division the Baggies find themselves in, activity is likely to be bustling to sound out replacements for such a big list of projected departures. And it clearly appears controlling stakeholder Shilen Patel has got his eye on where he wants to develop the club, with an emphasis on recruiting young and ambitious players who have the ability to go on and earn very high selling fees from consistently excellent performances.

According to this motto, Rice fits a lot of the bill and might be the next player Albion signs who significantly improves their playing lineup. As per a report by the Daily Mail, West Bromare considering up a bid to bring Rangers defensive midfielder Bailey Rice to the club next summer. However, they are poised to face heavy competition from a group of clubs that includes West Midlands rivals Aston Villa, along with fellow Premier League outfit Sunderland and League One club Cardiff City.

This is likely to happen through a free transfer, with Rice ready to let his agreement run down at Ibrox having failed to reach terms on a new deal. The Scottish U21 international was previously targeted by the likes of Manchester City and Brighton when he broke through at Motherwell, but he elected to put pen to paper on a deal with Rangers back in 2023. It is understood all of West Brom, Sunderland, Aston Villa, and Cardiff have checked on the 19-year-old in recent weeks, while the Baggies and Bluebirds have showed an indication of giving a pre-contract offer to Rice in January when he is able to talk to other interested parties.

It certainly sounds like a deal that might gather steam at the turn of the new year, and it will be exciting to watch if West Brom can come out on top in the competition. When it comes to the beginning of next season, West Brom are poised to be left quite short in midfield by the exits of Ousmane Diakite and Toby Collyer. From this, Albion will be on the search for a new number six, and Bailey Rice might be the perfect addition as he attempts to build a name for himself.

You can understand why Rice is bent on a transfer away from Rangers himself, since during the last three seasons at the club, he’s made only 16 appearances and hasn’t been given ample enough opportunity to exhibit his talents. His most extensive playing time came last season during Rangers’ Europa League campaign, where he participated in groups stage games against Nice and Manchester United, as well as receiving 67 minutes in the first leg of their quarter-final meeting with Athletic Bilbao. It’s an amazing experience to have at such a young age, but Rice now needs to move to a team where he will start most weeks and can accrue valuable minutes.

Given their need for midfield options for the upcoming season, West Brom would be a good spot to do that. However, it will depend on if the Baggies are a compelling enough project to take on and whether they can be promoted back to the Premier League at the end of this campaign. Meanwhile, the likes of Aston Villa and Sunderland could attract Rice given their outstanding league places in the Premier League, but then Rice could be involved in a number of loan swaps if he isn’t regarded talented enough to make the step-up to the top-flight just yet.

Rice’s injury history could be a bone of contention for West Brom. The Scotsman was stretchered off during last season’s Europa League match against Athletic Bilbao, and he just underwent “big” surgery on a training-related injury near the end of November. The question is whether the Baggies are willing to take that risk, but since he wouldn’t be able to command a transfer fee and wouldn’t be earning a huge salary at a Championship team due to his youth, it might be worthwhile.

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