Rangers target £1.7m-rated attacker with 'explosive' flair as preferred transfer destination named

Couhaib Driouech has emerged as Rangers latest summer target - but reports suggest the winger is currently favouring a transfer to Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven after an impressive season in the Eredivisie.

The Moroccan Under-23 international is the second player from the North African country to be linked with a move to Ibrox, with the Light Blues believed to be on the brink of finalising a deal for Driouech’s countryman Hamza Igamane from FAR Rabat. 

Driouech - who scored eight goals and eight assists last term - has been plying his trade in Netherlands with Excelsior Rotterdam, but his future looks to be up in the air following the club’s relegation to the second tier despite remaining under contract until next summer. According to Dutch TV presenter Mounir Boualin, the Ibrox side have displayed an “interest” in the 22-year-old wide man.

PSV attempted to sign Driouech for around €2million (£1.7m) in January but their efforts were rejected by his parent club. They remain ‘in the running’ and he now looks certain to move on amid claims Excelsior are open to selling him. In addition to Rangers, Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon, Belgians’ Royal Antwerp and French side RC Lens are also keen on his signature. However, Dutch football reporter Rik Elfrink says Heerenveen academy product still has his heart set on the Gers’ Champions League foes. He told Eindhovens Dagblad: “PSV has been interested in signing Couhaib Driouech for weeks, but has not yet reached an agreement with his current club Excelsior. His preference is PSV, although other clubs are also interested.

“PSV is trying to sign Driouech for more than two million euros. But Excelsior wants more. PSV technical director Earnest Stewart is not in a huge hurry. PSV will start preparations for the new season next week and would like to have Driouech on board, but the first official match of the new season is not until August 4.

“It is not known how far apart Excelsior and PSV are. A few weeks ago it seemed to be around 1 to 1.5 million euros. PSV has informed the club that it does not intend to pay what is Driouech was bid on in the winter. This is partly due to his contract situation: Driouech’s contract expires in mid-2025 and so Excelsior must sell him this summer to be able to collect a reasonable price.”

Driouech was previously labelled “so explosive” by his former Excelsior boss Marinus Dijkhuizen and is likely to feature alongside Igamane for Morocco at the Olympics in Paris this summer.