Source: Daily_Mail
Cash-strapped Liverpool pull the plug on deal for Rangers starlet Danny Wilson
[LNB]Highly-rated: Rangers whizzkid Danny Wilson[LNB]Danny Wilson's dream move to Liverpoolfinally hit the rocks lastnight when it was revealedRafa Benitez has beengiven only a paltry£5million transfer budgetfor next season. [LNB]The Ibrox hierachy weredetermined not to give groundin their price war with theAnfield club, even if it meantlosing Wilson on the cheapwhen the player moves out ofcontract in a year's time. [LNB]Rangers, who yesterdayadmitted striker Kris Boyd iscertain to leave the club in thesummer, remain frustratedbecause they feel Premiership suitors are trying to land theteenager at a bargain price andthe deal seemed no closer to aconclusion. [LNB]But now it looks at anend, with Liverpool seeminglyunable to afford a modest £2.5mdeal for Wilson, which would haverisen to £4m with add-ons, andaccommodate the teenager in thewage structure. [LNB]The precarious financial situationon Merseyside puts Spurs atthe front of the queue for Wilson'ssignature but once again thenoises coming from within Ibroxis that any bid must match theirmarket value of at least £5m. [LNB]The Ibrox hierarchy feel precedentsset in England for the likesof Theo Walcott (Southampton),Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City) andChris Smalling (Fulham) shouldset the benchmark high for theSPL's best young prospect. [LNB]Arsenal and Manchester Unitedpaid a combined £17m for thosethree youngsters at a time whennone had gathered the first-teamexperience Wilson has enjoyed in2009-10. [LNB]So, while manager Walter Smithnow accepts that the youngster'shead has been turned by theprospect of moving to England heis determined Rangers won't loseout because of what is effectivelydiscrimination against the SPL. [LNB] Determined: Rangers boss Walter Smith[LNB]'If you look at some of thetop teenage transfers in Englandover the past few years, thenthere are a number of them thathave involved very significantfees,' a senior Ibrox source toldSportsmail. [LNB]'It is all very well saying Wilsonis only a young boy but the likesof Walcott, Ramsey and Smallingonly had a handful of first-teamappearances against their namewhen they moved. [LNB]'Arsenal and Manchester Unitedhave had to pay big money inthose cases, so should it really beany different because the playeris coming from Scotland?[LNB]'It would be interesting to seewhat Liverpool's offer would be ifDanny Wilson was, for example,at Bristol City.' [LNB]Wilson has winners' medals tohis name in all three Scottishdomestic competitions he wason the bench for the Scottish CupFinal with Falkirk in May 2009 and won two separate YoungPlayer of the Year awards.[LNB] Tight purse strings: Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez[LNB]As well as the ChampionsLeague experience, he made hisOld Firm debut at Celtic Parkat New Year only days after his18th birthday.There's another issue. Rangershave invested heavily in MurrayPark and see Wilson as the bluechipgraduate of the youthacademy in Milngavie.[LNB]It cost around £14m to buildand the annual running costs areapproximately £1.5m. [LNB]Alan Hutton's £9m departure toSpurs a couple of years ago was amassive cash boost and anotherbig sale like this could keep thatside of the club in operation foranother three years if Liverpoolare tempted to buy now.[LNB]Smith, meanwhile, is looking fora new chief scout after EwanChester moved to the same roleat Norwich City. [LNB]Chester teams up with formerCeltic skipper Paul Lambert, wholed the Canaries to the Coca-ColaLeague One title, and toldNorwich's official website lastnight: 'Walter Smith has beensomething of a mentor to me andhe said: 'Ewan, you are leaving asa champion.' [LNB]'He also agreed with me that itwas a great opportunity as well.Norwich are a very progressiveclub and everything I have heardabout them has been reallypositive and it's a challenge I'mreally looking forward to.'[LNB] Blackburn and Newcastle given green light to move for Kris Boyd as Rangers boss Walter Smith loses battle to keep star striker Galatasaray ready to bid £5m for Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra EXCLUSIVE: ln the Red! Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez handed measly £5m summer transfer kitty[LNB]
