Glasgow Rangers made their first signing of the Russell Martin era last month when they confirmed the arrival of right-back Max Aarons on loan.

The former England U21 international will spend the 2025/26 campaign on loan at Ibrox, but Rangers do not have an option to make it permanent next summer, should they wish to.

Aarons will not be the last player to walk through the doors at Ibrox before the end of the summer transfer window, though, as Rangers are also in talks to sign Conor Coady to bolster their centre-back options.

The Scottish Premiership giants are also in the market to sign a new central midfielder, amid interest in Brazilian enforcer Metinho from Troyes.

Midfielder rejects clubs to sign for Rangers

There has not been any advance on their interest in Metinho as of yet, but the Gers are reportedly set to sign a new central midfielder from England.

According to Sky Sports journalist Mark McAdam, 30-year-old Bournemouth midfielder Joe Rothwell has turned down offers from teams in LaLiga to sign for Rangers.

The reporter adds that the Scottish giants have agreed a deal with the Premier League side to sign the right-footed maestro on a permanent deal, for an undisclosed fee.

McAdams states that Rothwell's contract with the Cherries is due to expire at the end of next season, and the Gers have taken advantage of that to swoop in to snap him up this summer.

Rangers have beat stiff competition from European sides, in Spain's top-flight, to plan the midfielder, who could arrive as Martin's own version of Glen Kamara, who played 193 times for the Ibrox giants.

Why Joe Rothwell could be Glen Kamara 2.0 for Rangers

The Gers sold Kamara to Leeds in the summer of 2023, and now they could finally find a new metronomic, classy, midfield operator by signing this Bournemouth ace.

Funnily enough, Rothwell was signed by the English side to replace the Finland international when he left Elland Road to join Rennes last year.

As you can see by their respective performances for Leeds at Championship level, Leeds landed a like-for-like replacement, as both players excel at progressing play and creating chances for their teammates with their immense passing quality.

The £15k-per-week star was described as a "pure baller" by manager Daniel Farke, and his statistics in the English second tier in the 2024/25 campaign back up that comment.

As you can see in the table above, Rothwell ranked very highly among his positional peers as a passer and as a creator in the Championship, which further backs up how similar he is to Kamara.

The English midfielder ended the season with 5.42 xA and four assists to his name in 24 league starts, which shows that he can create high-quality chances for his teammates at an impressive rate.

Kamara provided a calming presence in midfield with his ability to pass the ball, but the Finnish sensation also offered quality in the final third with a return of 11 assists in all competitions for the Gers.

Therefore, Rangers may have landed Martin his own version of the former Light Blues midfield maestro by winning the race ahead of European sides to sign Rothwell this summer.