"He must have something in his mind": Rangers boss Michael Beale addresses Ryan Porteous transfer talk after Hibs man stars in midfield

Rangers boss Michael Beale insists a potential move to bring Ryan Porteous to Ibrox hasn’t been discussed, but admitted he rates the outgoing Hibs star.
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Porteous lined up in an unusual central midfield role for Hibs at Ibrox and scored the opening goal before Rangers twice came from behind to win 3-2. The Scotland international is out of contract in the summer and has rejected a new contract, explaining that he wants to move on and test himself at a higher level to progress his career. His impending departure has led to frenzied speculation that Rangers would, or should, be interested in lodging a cut-price bid when the January transfer window opens, especially given their injury problems at centre-half.

When asked on BBC Radio Scotland about any potential interest in Porteous, Beale said: “Ryan is a good young player. He played in a new position and he scored a goal. My focus has firmly been on this group. I’ve seen him come through.

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“I was here when he made his debut. He's a big part of their squad and I wouldn’t want to speculate on that. I know it's come out he's not signed a contract. He must have something in his mind, but it won't be Rangers because we haven't discussed him yet.”

Porteous will miss the Edinburgh derby after picking up a yellow card at Ibrox, but manager Lee Johnson was pleased with his performance in midfield. “It was another good performance from a player who has, I think, shown a lot of commitment in difficult circumstances,” he said.