Offers certainly are not in short supply. But have any arrived from Rangers?
That was one of the subjects discussed on Thursday when the future of a much-admired centre-forward was brought up in front of the manager who is understandably desperate to keep hold of his star man.
The Athletic reports that there is interest from both Rangers and Old Firm rivals Celtic in a man who took Scottish football by storm in 2023/24.
Theo Bair, Motherwell’s broad-shouldered number nine, ended the campaign with 15 goals and six assists to his name. One of those came against Rangers in March, Bair giving Philippe Clement’s backline a very tough time at Fir Park.
And, according to Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell, there has been a few offers arriving on his coffee table already. But are any of those marked Rangers?
Rangers linked with Motherwell striker Theo Bair
“There’s been plenty of concrete interest in Theo. There’s been a couple of concrete bids from clubs in two of Europe’s top five leagues,” Kettlewell explains, via the Scottish Sun.
“I won’t name the clubs or countries. But they have not been from inside Scotland.”
Rangers, then, are clearly yet to turn their interest into anything more concrete. That could change, of course, with the potential departure of Cyriel Dessers to PAOK opening the door for another centre-forward to arrive alongside RAF Rabat’s Hamza Igamane.
Albion Rrahmani’s camp have held talks with Gers director Nils Koppen, per Digi Sport. But Rapid Bucharest are holding out for around £5 million, far more than Motherwell are expected to bring in for Bair.
HITC, meanwhile, revealed a few weeks ago that there is interest from Championship trio Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and Cardiff City. St Pauli, recently promoted to the Bundesliga, are also in contention.
“There’s been plenty interest. I’ll be brutally honest, there has been lots of interest,” Kettlewell adds, via The National, Bair currently on Copa America duty with Canada. “We are in constant contact with big Theo as is his teammates and many of the staff.
“I don’t look at it any other way other than the fact that he’s a Motherwell player. He’s got another year on his contract and we’ve loved working with him. We would love that to continue.
Celtic also linked with 15-goal striker
Kettlewell does admit, however, that Motherwell may have no choice but to accept if they receive an offer they cannot turn down. Bair, after all, will be a free-agent in just 12 months’ time.
Rangers, meanwhile, recently brought in Connor Barron from Aberdeen. He is only the second player to move to Ibrox from a direct Scottish Premiership rival since Scott Wright made the trip from Pittodrie to Ibrox three-and-a-half years ago.
Bair would take that tally to three.
“Sometimes that situation is out with your control,” says former Ross County boss Kettlewell. “If somebody offers big money – and I mean big money – for anybody within your group at a club like Motherwell, it’s always got to be something that we consider.
“We don’t cry about it either. We are always trying to think about that next way forward.
“If that becomes a situation again, there will be nobody happier for the likes of Theo if it was something that he thought took him to the next stage of his career, as I have loved working with the lad. I really like him as a person.
“He is still very much ours until somebody puts something in front of us we can’t refuse.”
The Daily Mail believe that Motherwell could sell Bair for around £1 million.
