Norwich City: Kenny McLean makes honest Rangers FC transfer admission | OneFootball

The Canaries man has spoken about rumours of a return to Glasgow

Kenny McLean has admitted there was never much chance of him leaving Norwich City for Rangers in the summer transfer window.

The midfielder spent time in the Scottish giants' academy setup during his youth career, but never made a senior appearance for the club.

However, reports in the summer claimed that the 32-year-old was a target for the Ibrox club, who he supported as a boy.

In the end though, no such deal materialised, and it now seems as though a conversation with new Norwich manager Johannes Hoff Thorup helped to keep the midfielder at Carrow Road.

Kenny McLean opens up on Rangers transfer links

With Thorup arriving to take charge in East Anglia over the summer, Dane was seemingly keen to bring young players into his side.

That raised some questions about McLean's own status at the club. But after a conversation with the new boss, the 32-year-old felt confident he still had a part to play for the Canaries.

In turn, that seemingly put to bed any chance of him leaving Norwich to join Rangers in the summer transfer window, despite those links.

When asked about those rumours of a move to Ibrox for him in the summer, McLean was quoted by The Daily Record as saying: "Not too much that needed spoken about, to be honest.

"The manager was in the door a couple of weeks and I had a conversation with him. He'd made it quite clear publicly that he wanted young players. And I didn't quite fit that bracket.

"But when I spoke to him he knew he needed some experience about the place and I've been there a long time.

“He told me I was still a big part of the plan. So for me that was me secure and getting my head down at Norwich and not really focusing on elsewhere. It was resolved pretty quickly.”

As things stand, there are just over two years remaining on McLean's contract with Norwich, with the option to extend by a further 12 months.

That effectively secures his future at Carrow Road until the end of the 2026/27 season, meaning the club are in a strong position when it comes to the midfielder.

It has been a solid start to the season for the Canaries under Thorup, with a return of 15 points from nine league games putting them seventh in the Championship standings.

Norwich are next in action after the international break on Saturday 19th October, when they play away at Stoke City.

From an individual perspective, McLean has started all nine of those league matches so far this season, already providing three assists in that time.

In total, the midfielder has made 239 appearances for the club, scoring 13 goals and providing 26 assists, since joining from Aberdeen in the summer of 2018.

Keeping Kenny McLean is paying off for Norwich City

It certainly seems as though Thorup made the right call by including McLean in his plans to help shut down any prospect of a move to Rangers.

There is certainly a need for experience in any squad, to help those younger players get through the challenges and demands of a season.

Given how well he already knows Norwich City, it made sense for McLean to continue in that sort of role at Carrow Road.

Indeed, his contributions at the start of the season have also shown just how much he has left to offer, even at 32-years-old.

The Canaries therefore, would feel as though they had missed out if he was doing that elsewhere had he been sold in the summer.