Rangers centre-back Jack Simpson is not on Birmingham City's radar this summer after previously being linked with a move for the Gers' defender, as per a report from Birmingham Live.

The 25-year-old has been linked with a return to the EFL in recent months, with Football Insider reporting in early February that the West Midlands outfit and league rivals Middlesbrough tried to recruit him in the latter stages of the winter window.

However, both ran out of time to get a deal over the line and with this, he remained at Ibrox for the remainder of the 2021/22 campaign, though his future is currently unclear with the defender rarely appearing for the Scottish Premiership side since the January window closed.

Since then, Boro have moved to recruit Darragh Lenihan on the expiration of his contract at Blackburn Rovers and with the likes of Paddy McNair, Dael Fry, Anfernee Dijksteel and Grant Hall all available as options, another central defender may not be at the top of their transfer priority list at this stage.

Their situation is in contrast with Birmingham's, with Teden Mengi and Kristian Pedersen's departures leaving a big hole at the back and Harlee Dean also likely to depart in the coming months.

They could potentially steal a march on Chris Wilder's side in a potential race to recruit Simpson after seeing them recruit Lenihan - but Birmingham Live have revealed he is not on Lee Bowyer and Craig Gardner's radar for the summer.

The Verdict:

Considering they would probably need to pay a fee for him, it's no real surprise that he isn't on their radar and to address their lack of options at the back, the free-agent and loan markets may come in handy.

Although Terell Thomas isn't believed to be a target for the West Midlands side this summer, he is someone that could potentially come in and provide some much-needed depth, even if he isn't a starter.

And they need options to come in as quickly as possible, so their takeover situation needs to be sorted very soon if Bowyer's side are to be ready for the start of the 2022/23 campaign.

Boro may also benefit from looking at Simpson again because they look set to play three at the back again next term, meaning they will need quite a few options to cover for a potential injury crisis in this area.

Sol Bamba and Lee Peltier have already moved on and it wouldn't be a surprise to see Grant Hall depart at some point too considering his lack of game time, so he may appear on their radar again.