Peterborough Director of Football Barry Fry has told interested clubs they may have to pay as much as £5m for striker Jonson Clarke-Harris this summer.

Fry revealed this week that Rangers, Bournemouth and Sheffield United all had scouts in attendance when Clarke-Harris scored a hat-trick for the Posh in their 7-0 win over Accrington Stanley last weekend.

The club signed Clarke-Harris for £1.25m from Bristol Rovers in August and Fry says that the forward may well fetch five times that figure now:

“There were several Championship clubs chasing Jonson in January and Bournemouth were the most persistent. We had several offers for the player, but we turned them down flat, even though we could probably get five times what we paid for him.”

It is not surprising that so many clubs are keeping tabs on Clarke-Harris. The 26-year-old has scored 27 goals in 40 appearances for Peterborough this season.

Currently, signing a new striker is unlikely to be a priority for Rangers but, if the likes of Jermain Defoe and perhaps Alfredo Morelos do leave Ibrox this summer, it is wise to have contingency plans in place.

Whether Clarke-Harris could make the step up from England’s third tier to the top flight in Scotland, it isn’t known, but his impressive record in front of goal makes him an attractive target.