Rangers are hoping to sign Bournemouth pair Jack Simpson and Nnamdi Ofoborh on pre-contracts this month with a view to bringing them in this summer.

The Light Blues have opened discussions with the pair despite manager Steven Gerrard recently playing down the possibility of numerous deals being done this window.

Ofoborh has been showing up well for the reserves and boss Jason Tindall brought him into the starting XI for games in the Championship proper this term. He has played five times for the first-team including against the likes of Manchester City and Crystal Palace in the cups.

Jack Simpson, meanwhile, has played 12 games this term and continues to impress. It's not Simpson's first season at the Cherries, however, and he has previously worked alongside Eddie Howe while the club were in the Premier League.

And the former boss was a big fan and reckoned, even back last year, that the now 24-year-old has a big future in the game, at the top. He told the Echo last year: "He is a player of huge potential and promise but is coming to an age where he probably feels he needs regular football. It’s obviously got to be right for us and for him.

“He’s got that rare composure on the ball. I remember one of the early performances he gave at Chelsea, as good a performance I’ve seen with the ball from a centre-half in a long, long time. He’s got that ability to find passes under pressure. He seems to rise to the occasion, which is a great quality to have mentally.

“Physically he’s good. He is six foot three, he can head the ball and is athletic. He does have everything – the only thing missing for Jack is the experience that a lot of the other players have.”