Exclusive: Former Sheffield United Striker Oli McBurnie Waiting on Rangers Before Deciding Summer Move

Oli McBurnie will wait and see if Rangers enter the race for his services before deciding which club to join this summer, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.

The centre-forward, who joined Las Palmas from Sheffield United at the beginning of last term, is set to leave the Spaniards on a free transfer following their relegation from the top-flight.

United, where manager Chris Wilder’s future has been thrown into doubt given the new owner’s AI centric approach, are expected to open talks with McBurnie if the 57-year-old remains in charge. 

But he is unlikely to be compatible with his former club’s increasingly data led recruitment strategy if COH Sports decide to make a change at Bramall Lane after last month’s defeat in the Championship play-off final.

Despite being born in Leeds, McBurnie is a lifelong supporter of the Glaswegian giants and harbours ambitions of representing them at some stage of his career. 

He has also been capped by Scotland at international level and would jump at the chance of discussing a switch to Ibrox if Russell Martin, whose appointment as head coach is set to prompt a flurry of activity in the transfer market, shows even the slightest interest in luring him north of the border.

WILDER WILLING

Wilder, who attempted to retain McBurnie’s services 12 months ago, is understood to have already made contact with the former Swansea City marksman’s representatives. 

But the American consortium which purchased the South Yorkshire club from HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in December are known to favour handing control of identifying talent to a team of analysts rather than Wilder and his backroom staff. 

However, neither of the two purchases they made during the January window have so far threatened United’s starting eleven.

If Martin does decide to test McBurnie’s desire to join Rangers, he could take advantage of the uncertainty behind the scenes at United by looking to broker a quick deal. 

McBurnie put pen to paper on a three year contract before heading to Gran Canaria. But that agreement contained a clause which would render it null and void if Las Palmas failed to retain La Liga status.