Rangers eye move for 'talented' ex-Ajax youth team ace as Derek McInnes targets problem position

According to reports, discussions have taken place over a deal to bring the right-footed left winger to the club on a season-long loan deal, with the 23-year-old placed on a list of targets by Ibrox chiefs as they club look to bolster their wide options ahead of the season opener against Dundee United on Friday.

Called up by the Suriname national team in November 2025, the Amsterdam-born player began his career in the Netherlands, spending time in both Ajax and FC Twente’s youth academies, before making his senior debut for Go Ahead Eagles during the 2022/23 campaign. He rose to prominence in the Croatian top flight though, where he bagged seven goals in 18 games after being snapped up by NK Kustosija the following summer.

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Spells at Celje and FC Zurich would follow before he was signed by Coventry City for a fee of £4.3million in January, playing five times as the Sky Blues went on to win the EFL Championship with 95 points. Described by head coach Frank Lampard as “a talented player with good speed, acceleration, strong one-on-one ability, that can create and score”, it is understood that Rangers held an interest in signing him themselves before his move to the CBS Arena.

Head coach McInnes has already been extremely active in the summer transfer window, adding seven new players to his squad, with Philadelphia Union centre-back Olwethu Makhanya also reported to be closing in on a £3million switch to Ibrox after a breakthrough in talks. However, the 55-year-old boss has made no secret of his desire to strengthen his wide options, and has also been credited with an interest in Brighton youngster Amario Cozier-Duberry.

Speaking after the 0-0 pre-season draw with West Ham United at the weekend, the Rangers boss said: “Obviously we're trying to address bringing a couple of key positions into the club, and as soon as we can get those in, the better I think, because obviously we've still got a long way in the window to go, but we want to be as strong as we can from the get-go for the league, and also in Europe.

“I think a club like ours needs to have those guys that can isolate and go and be one, and can play off both sides naturally. So we are looking for a wee bit more creativity that we think can serve the strikers. We've got strikers in [Ryan] Naderi, [Youssef] Chermiti, [Lawrence] Shankland and [Bojan] Miovski who can all finish off chances.

“But maybe only Chermiti is capable of creating an opportunity for himself in terms of his feet and all the rest of it. Ryan, Lawrence and Boijan are very much dependent on service, and we need to provide a bit more service. But I do think there has to be a shift in the sense that we need players who see that job as really important for the team.

Markelo, whose brother Nathan plays for Dutch side Vitesse and the Curacao national team, is understood to have been eyed by several other clubs this summer and would become the fourth player to leave Coventry on loan this summer if a deal can be agreed, with Norman Bassette, Isaac Moore and Callum Perry having all completed loan moves away from the Midlands ahead of the new campaign.