Star seals £3.5m move after claims Rangers were leading race to sign him

Stoke City are confident that have signed a player with ‘great attacking qualities’ as reported Rangers target Million Manhoef seals a £3.5 million move from Vitesse Arnhem to the English Championship. 

Moving from Arnhem to Staffordshire on deadline day,

cynics would argue that the Dutch under-21 international has simply swapped one relegation struggle for another.

The Potters are still seven points above the drop zone,

but they appear to be moving in only one direction.

Stoke will be hoping that Manhoef proves to be ‘one in a million’,

as this most versatile of footballers moves to England after suspicion that he could have arrived from the other side of Hadrian’s Wall.

Rangers were leading the race at the start of the month, according to the Scottish Sun,

but the ties broke when Philippe Clement’s side focused their sights on Mohamed Diomande and Oscar Cortes.

“Our recruitment team identified Million as a target during the summer transfer window, and,

having continued to track his performances since then,

we are delighted to now bring him to Stoke,” technical director Ricky Martin smiled,

appropriately ‘loca’ about his long-awaited acquisition.

“Milly, a left-footed player who cuts in from the right, has excellent attacking abilities and will add a new and dangerous dimension to our team going forward.

His excitement and determination to make an impact in English football will also add to the dynamism in our group.

“Manhoef was one of the Eredivisie’s top performers in 2022/23.

He ended his breakout season with nine goals and six assists,

including a maiden hat-trick against Groningen in May.

Rangers will be hoping that Oscar Cortes, who is on loan from Lens,

can put up equally excellent numbers during his stay in Glasgow,

but the Colombian may need some time to get back to full pace having appearing so sparingly across the Channel.

Rangers were linked with a number of Dutch-based players in January,

possibly as a result of the appointment of former PSV manager Nils Koppen.

Manhoef was just one of several names mentioned, including Gijs Smal and Frederik Oppegard.

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