Steven Gerrard is ready to offer up one of his Rangers fringe players as a make-weight to fast forward Scott Wright’s move from Aberdeen.
Gerrard revealed he is close tying up Wright on a pre-contract agreement that will see the Dons winger move to Ibrox this summer.
But the Light Blues boss would like to see a deal done sooner and is prepared to send the likes of Jordan Jones or Greg Stewart in the opposite direction to speed up the process.
Gers midfielder Ross McCrorie is also due to make his Pittodrie loan a permanent £350,000 switch this summer and Gerrard hinted there could be a money-back arrangement on offer if Derek McInnes allows Wright, 23, to leave this month.
Gerrard said: “The money men will talk and I’m sure in the conversations they will have everything on the table in terms of possibilities to try to get this done in the coming weeks.
“There are different options. There’s a possibility of one of our players going the other way.
“There is a possibility of cash up front and I don’t know where the Ross McCrorie deal lies in terms of what needs to be done and what doesn’t. But I’m sure that’s another possibility as well.”
Gerrard called McInnes earlier this week to inform the Aberdeen boss of his interest in Wright.
But if Aberdeen reject Gers’ desires for January move, he insists he will be happy to wait until the end of the season to get his hands on the Scotland Under-21 ace.
“We are keen to do everything right and be respectful to Aberdeen, Derek and also Scott as well,” he said.
“Things are progressing well in terms of trying to get it tied up for next season. I think that’s the priority.
“I had a conversation with Derek after our game last week, which I felt was the right time to do it. We didn’t want it to interfere with either side’s preparations going into that game.
“If it can be done in this window, that would be a bonus and a boost to us.
“If something can be done, then great. If not, the priority for me is to get it tied up for next season. But we’re extremely close in terms of having it done for the summer.”
Gers made it 15 wins in a row last week with a 2-1 win at Pittodrie despite being without key trio Ryan Jack, Scott Arfield and Kemar Roofe because of injury.
But Gerrard is hopeful Jack could play some part against Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday – while Roofe could be back for next week’s Ross County visit.
“Kemar should be back in full training in the middle of next week, all being well,” said the Ibrox boss. “Ryan is back with the group now. That’s a big boost for everyone.
“Will he be involved against Motherwell? That’s a decision I’ll make after today’s session. We might need to be patient a little bit longer.
“But he is back in the group and, for sure, he will be involved next week. We will see how he looks this morning.”
Jack has Euro 2020 to look forward to next summer and Gerrard revealed he has already held talks with Scotland boss Steve Clarke to ensure the midfielder does not suffer another relapse after two months out with a troublesome knee injury.
He said: “We have always tried to monitor the load of all the players and players are all different in different ways.
“Jacko is a difficult one because he is so important, he is a player that we rate very much.
“His consistency levels have been superb. It is a difficult one because you want him in the team as much as possible and he wants to be in the team as much as possible.
“It is something we have spoken to Ryan about, it is something we have had conversations with Steve Clarke about and the reality is that Ryan does need looking after differently to some other players.
“It is something we will keep an eye on and try and make him available as much as we can because he is so important to both club and country, especially at this stage.”
