Rangers have been in contact with Newcastle about signing winger Jacob Murphy, according to reports in the UK.

The Bears are said to be interested in snapping up the 25-year-old on loan but there is still some way to go before a deal can be finalised.

Magpies boss Steve Bruce has spoken about Murphy’s future in the last few days, saying he wants to assess the winger in training before weighing up whether to offload the player.

There is also believed to be competition for the Englishman. Sheffield Wednesday are very keen on signing up the winger after he spent a spell on loan at Hillsborough last campaign.

It is also thought that both Derby County and Nottingham Forest are interested in Murphy, so Rangers do have a fight on their hands to persuade the player into moving to Ibrox.

One additional factor could be the future of Ryan Kent. The Light Blues desperately want to keep the 23-year-old but were Leeds to come up with an offer too good to turn down, it could lead to Steven Gerrard’s side stepping up their interest in Murphy.