Ryan Alebiosu spent one season in the Championship, played 41 games, kept his place throughout, and now Rangers want to bring him back to the Scottish Premiership. This time to Ibrox, not Paisley.
Rangers FC are leading the pursuit of Nigerian right-back Ryan Alebiosu and are making significant progress toward securing the Blackburn Rovers defender this summer, according to reports from Sportsboom. The Scottish Premiership giants have identified Alebiosu as a priority target to fill the right back position vacated by the departure of James Tavernier at the end of last season, and are believed to be close to reaching an agreement on personal terms with the 24-year-old.
Blackburn Rovers, who signed Alebiosu from Belgian Pro League club Kortrijk last summer, are willing to sell the defender in this transfer window for a fee between £3 million and £5 million. The Championship side reportedly turned down a bid from Serie A club Genoa for the player in January, holding firm on their valuation and their preference for a summer sale rather than a mid season departure. That January rejection now sits in the background as Rangers have moved to the front of a queue that also includes West Ham and a returning interest from Genoa, who have not given up their pursuit despite the earlier knockback. Nigerian fans following Alebiosu’s transfer and all Super Eagles player movements this summer can stay updated through Bet9ja’s Super Pick page alongside the latest pre-match offers.
What Alebiosu Produced at Blackburn
The case for Alebiosu’s value at £3m to £5m is built on a Championship season that delivered consistent output rather than headline-grabbing individual moments. He started 41 matches in the second tier of English football, scored once, and registered five assists from the right-back position. In modern full back play, where contribution to attacking phases through overlapping runs, crosses, and combination play is measured as carefully as defensive solidity, five assists from 41 appearances is a meaningful return. His ability to cover ground and deliver into dangerous areas gave Blackburn’s attacking structure an outlet down the right side throughout the season.
The January rejection of Genoa’s bid suggested Blackburn’s belief in his value was well founded. A Serie A club’s willingness to bid during the winter window for a Championship right back with Alebiosu’s profile is itself a marker of the level of interest he has generated in a single season. Rangers have now taken that interest further, and their reported progress on personal terms suggests the gap between what Blackburn want and what Alebiosu is willing to agree to at Ibrox is narrowing. A summer arrival would give him a full pre-season under whichever manager Rangers appoint for the 2026-27 campaign, and a return to Scottish Premiership football he is already familiar with from his time at St Mirren. Super Eagles fans can follow all transfer news and get the latest Bet9ja offers at Nigeria’s top Bet9ja promotion code page as the window develops.
The Emmanuel Fernandez Connection
One detail in the Alebiosu to Rangers story that has attracted attention is the prospect of a Super Eagles reunion. Emmanuel Fernandez, the Nigerian midfielder who featured for the Super Eagles in the Portugal friendly on Wednesday, is already at Rangers, and a successful Alebiosu transfer would bring two Nigerian internationals together at the same Scottish club. That kind of international connection can sometimes accelerate a player’s decision when personal terms are under discussion the knowledge that a familiar face is already in the dressing room and that the environment has been navigated by someone from the same national setup carries a practical value beyond the purely professional.
Alebiosu’s familiarity with Scottish football also removes one of the standard unknowns from the equation. He played at St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership before his move to Kortrijk, which means he understands the style, the physical demands, and the atmosphere of the division Rangers operate in. The transition from Championship to Scottish Premiership carries a different set of adjustments than a completely new footballing environment, and Alebiosu has already made it in one direction. Rangers, who are preparing to defend or reclaim domestic silverware in the 2026-27 season, are adding a player who knows exactly what the league asks of a right back. All Rangers and Super Eagles transfer updates are available throughout the summer at FootballInNigeria.com.ng’s Bet9ja promotion code page.
📌 Did You Know?
- Ryan Alebiosu is an Arsenal academy graduate who came through the Hale End youth system before leaving without making a senior appearance for the Gunners, a background he shares with Arthur Okonkwo, another Nigerian player linked with a Scottish Premiership club this summer in the form of Leicester City.
- James Tavernier, whose departure from Rangers has opened the right back position Alebiosu is being targeted to fill, spent ten years at Ibrox and captained the club to the 2020-21 Scottish Premiership title their first in a decade making him one of the most celebrated defenders in the club’s recent history.
- Blackburn Rovers, where Alebiosu spent the 2025-26 Championship season, are one of only four clubs outside the Premier League’s founding members to have won the top flight title in the Premier League era, having done so in 1994-95 under Kenny Dalglish with Alan Shearer as their star striker.
- Kortrijk, the Belgian Pro League club from whom Blackburn signed Alebiosu last summer, are based in the city of Kortrijk in the West Flanders province of Belgium. The club has a track record of developing and selling African players to bigger European leagues, with Alebiosu among their most prominent recent sales.
- West Ham United, one of the other clubs tracking Alebiosu’s situation, would represent a Premier League move for the defender if they progress their interest into a formal offer. The gap between Rangers’ Scottish Premiership environment and a Premier League club in terms of weekly audience and competitive level would likely also affect the personal terms discussions.
- Emmanuel Fernandez, who would become Alebiosu’s Super Eagles teammate at Rangers if the transfer completes, featured as a substitute in Nigeria’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Portugal in Leiria on June 10, continuing a period of regular call-ups under Eric Chelle that has established him as a reliable squad option in the Super Eagles setup.
- St Mirren, the Scottish Premiership club where Alebiosu previously played before moving to Belgium, are based in Paisley and compete in the same division as Rangers. His familiarity with the league’s physicality, match tempo, and playing surfaces gives him a meaningful advantage over players arriving in the Scottish Premiership from outside the United Kingdom for the first time.
